VIRUS OUTBREAK-MAINE
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s education commissioner is recommending that schools continue online learning programs for the remainder of the school year. Commissioner Pender Makin said Tuesday that her recommendation was based on guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency recommends avoiding in-person instruction for eight to 20 weeks once there is evidence of community spread of the new coronavirus. Also, the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control expressed disappointment in the initial allotment of test kits produced. In Maine, more than 500 people have tested positive for the virus, and 14 people have died.