AUGUSTA — The Mills Administration released Friday an updated color coded Health Advisory System that classifies counties’ relative risk of COVID-19 transmission by color for schools as they continue with their plans to deliver instruction and support students  safely this fall.
 
The updated assessment released today showed that Maine’s 16 counties continue to be designated “green,” with no changes from  the initial launch of the system two weeks ago.
 
The Health Advisory System is a collaboration among the Maine Department of Education (DOE), the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC).

The classifications were developed to categorize counties based on quantitative and qualitative data about COVID-19 including, but not limited to, recent data on case rates, positivity rates, and syndromic data (e.g., symptoms of influenza or COVID-19). This system categorizes counties by three-color based designations: red, yellow, and green.

The Health Advisory System categorizations are defined as follows:

RED: Categorization as “red” suggests that the county has a high risk of COVID-19 spread and that in-person instruction is not advisable.

YELLOW: Categorization as “yellow” suggests that that the county has an elevated risk of COVID-19 spread and that schools may consider additional precautions and/or hybrid instructional models as a way to reduce the number of people in schools and classrooms at any one time.

GREEN: Categorization as “green” suggests that the county has a relatively low risk of COVID-19 spread and that schools may consider in-person instruction, as long as they are able to implement the required health and safety measures.  Schools in a “green” county may need to use hybrid instruction models if there is insufficient capacity or other factors (facilities, staffing, geography/transportation, etc.) that may prevent full implementation of the health and safety requirements.

Regardless of their county's red, yellow, or green designation, districts must also meet the Requirements for Safely Opening Schools to protect the safety and well-being of staff, students, and families. They fall into six categories:

1. Symptom Screenings Before Coming to School
2. Physical distancing and school facilities
3. Masks/Face Coverings
4. Hand Hygiene
5. Personal Protective Equipment
6. Return to School After Illness

The Health Advisory System reflects ongoing analysis of evolving data and serves as one piece of information that school and district leaders can use to make decisions about how to deliver education this fall.

It will be updated at noon every other Friday, and can be found on the Maine DOE website in Part I of the Framework for Returning to Classroom Instruction: maine.gov/doe/framework/part-I