Maine Gov. Janet Mills unveiled her administration's plan to protect the health and safety of residents and visitors during the tourism season.
Monday, Mills and members of her administration announced new ways for visitors to come to the Pine Tree State without observing a mandatory 14-day quarantine.
Effective immediately, residents from New Hampshire and Vermont are allowed to come to Maine without quarantining, and starting this Friday, they can book hotel rooms.
"When adjusted for population, the prevalence of COVID-19 in those states is pretty similar to Maine, and it's going down," Mills said.
Anyone visiting from any other state is allowed to skip the quarantine beginning July 1 if they can present certification that they've had a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of arriving in Maine. Visitors from states outside northern New England will be able to visit hotels starting that same day.
Travelers can take a coronavirus test after arriving in Maine, but will need to be in quarantine until they test negative.
"Know before you go," Mills recommended.
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The expanded access to Maine is tied to expanded access to testing within the state through Idexx, the Westbrook-headquartered company that the Mills administration has partnered with to remove testing tiers locally.
Maine's testing capacity will quadruple, expanding in-state access to tests and allowing more mobility.
"This dramatically expanded capacity coming online in July is critical to protecting Maine people," said Mills during a Monday afternoon press conference via Zoom.
Until July 1, the 14-day quarantine remains in place for travelers from outside New Hampshire and Vermont.
In terms of enforcement, provisions under Mills' emergency order on COVID-19 remain in effect.
Lodging establishments in state are also expected to comply with state rules for certificates of negative tests to be presented.
