Sign Maine Travel Agency Agreement Fast

Document type sign travel agency agreement maine fast

[Music] good afternoon everyone i'm nero shaw the director of maine's center for disease control and prevention i'm joined this afternoon by governor janet mills commissioner heather johnson from maine's department of economic and community development and commissioner gene lambrew from maine's department of health and human services we're pleased to be able to join everyone this afternoon to provide an update on where we stand with respect to covet 19 for today friday december 11 2020. i'll probably i'll provide an update first with where we stand with respect to the epidemiology of covet 19 and some recent developments on the vaccine front and then turn things over to governor mills before we turn to questions i begin my update today on yet another unfortunate and sad note the main cdc has received the reports of an additional four main people who have died with copic 19. one of whom was a man in his 80s from hancock county another was a woman also in her 80s from hancock county the third was a woman also in her 80s from oxford county and finally a woman in her 70s from penobscot county i'd like to take a moment to extend our deepest condolences to the friends family members and communities of all four of these individuals collectively their passings mark now 250 deaths among maine people with covet 19. as of right now there are a total of 15 206 cases of covet 19 statewide an increase of 345 since yesterday of those 13 332 are confirmed cases an increase of 299 and 1874 are probable cases an increase of 46. as i mentioned a moment ago sadly 250 main people have died with covet 19 and cumulatively 855 individuals have been hospitalized right now across the state 180 people are in the hospital with covid19 50 of whom are in an intensive care unit and 16 of whom are on a ventilator among our cases 1882 are health care turning next to a few outbreak updates just today maine cdc has opened epidemiological investigations into the following outbreak situations one at the mcmahon elementary school in lewiston where we are aware of four cases another at the otterbrook child care in fairfield where we are aware of four cases as well a third at presque isle high school with five cases another at the sacopee valley elementary school where three cases are known at security systems services where we are aware of three cases at the title in in gorham three cases and yesterday maine cdc opened epidemiological investigations into the following outbreaks at the enclave school at the enclave of scarborough where we are aware of four cases at the gardner area high school uh where we are also aware of four cases at zipple elementary school in presque isle 10 cases at the inn at village square in gorham 16 cases at noble middle school in berwick four cases at seaside rehab and healthcare in portland three cases at the toddler inn in scarborough six cases and finally at whitney energy in lincoln where we are aware of four cases among all of the cases reported to maine cdc in the past 24 hours 34 were from york county and about 23 percent were from cumberland county i'd like to take a second to mark a few milestones that maine cdc has accomplished with respect to our response first as of this morning more than one million covet 19 test results have been reported to maine cdc that means our disease detectives have reviewed more than one million lab results as challenging as that is as challenging as it has been and as challenging as it will be the team at maine cdc has continued to make sure that we are able to review those results and stay on top of where things stand at our testing laboratory here in augusta the main cdc's laboratory we've also performed now over 200 000 tests for covid19 alone just since the beginning of our activation and finally our public health emergency preparedness program with respect to ppe has filled now close to 4 000 orders for ppe across the state totaling almost 3.3 million pieces of ppe statewide i'd like to next turn to a quick announcement with respect to quarantine not long ago maine cdc announced that we were lowering the quarantine period for individuals who had been exposed to covet 19 from 14 days to 10 days that was consistent with and pursuant to a scientific guidance document from the uscdc i'd also like to note that we have similarly reduced the quarantine time for those who are entering maine from states other than new hampshire or vermont to match that same reduction elsewhere that is to say from 14 days to 10 days this matches the newly adopted main cdc guidelines for quarantine now i'd like to just draw a distinction while the length of time for these different types of quarantine that is to say for those who are close contacts of confirmed cases as as compared to those who are traveling into maine the lengths of time for both of those quarantine periods are the same 10 days but there are and remain differences in the nature of that quarantine between travel versus close contact that is to say you can test out of the travel quarantine by virtue of having a recent negative test result but if you are a close contact of somebody who has been confirmed to have covet 19 you must stay in quarantine for the full 10 days whether or not you are negative at any time and finally before i turn things over to governor mills a brief update on where we stand with respect to vaccinations today the maine department of health and human services and maine cdc have placed our second order for week number two of that for vaccines related to covid19 as many may have heard yesterday an expert independent advisory committee of the of the united states fda voted to recommend to the commissioner of the u.s fda the issuance of an emergency use authorization the commissioner of the usfda expects that document to be signed sometime in the next coming days which opens the door for vaccine to start flowing into maine last week we entered our first of such orders and made that order with the operation warp speed in the uscdc this week we entered our second such order i'll go through the numbers in one moment but one note we use the word order but really it's more of providing the federal government the names and addresses of the facilities that we would like the vaccine shipped to the amounts that we are allocated are given to us it's much more about telling our colleagues at operation warp speed where to send the doses of vaccine to just a few quick numbers all of this is also found on our website in a pr and in a press release but just a few short numbers last week we submitted an order for twelve thousand six hundred individuals twelve thousand six hundred and seventy five individual doses of the pfizer vaccine that's enough for the first dose for 12 675 individuals this week week number two we have submitted an order for 37 850 doses thirteen thousand six hundred and fifty of which are of the pfizer vaccine and twenty four thousand two hundred of which are from for the moderna vaccine which itself will be analyzed by the usfda's advisory committee this upcoming week in a recently issued press release as well as on our website we provide further details on the breakdown of where those doses will be shipped governor mills i'd like to turn things over to you now thank you dr shah it's a pleasure to be here and to appear from my office in the main state house i share the great pleasure of all americans in the development and approval of the vaccine just yesterday and the allocation of vaccines to maine whatever quantities we can get whenever we can get them and thank you and commissioner lambrew for your tireless efforts at um working with so many sectors of our communities to figure out where those can go how they can get out to the broadest number of people as fast as possible my quarantine as you know ended on tuesday this week thank you very much my i will say masks do work i'm living proof although i didn't have any symptoms and i tested negative um i was quarantined because i was exposed to the virus by a member of the security detail just before that person developed symptoms and tested positive you look if that person had not been wearing a mask and we were both wearing a mask while i was in the vehicle before that person developed symptoms i firmly believe i would have contracted the virus we know that face face coverings can stop the spread of the virus and we need people to wear them simple as that so because of the widespread community transmission uh and the increased number of cobia 19 cases and hospitalizations in maine today i'm signing an executive order that i believe will strengthen and simplify compliance with the statewide face covering requirement in maine for the last two months now all people in a public setting have been required to wear a face covering starting today the owners and operators of all indoor spaces those in charge of events and happenings and gatherings regardless of the type or size of the facility they may not allow people who refuse to wear face masks to enter or remain in that place additionally additionally people who claim a medical exemption as a result of a disability who say they can't wear a mask they may be provided a reasonable accommodation such as curbside pickup but that may not they may not be allowed to enter or remain in the facility without a mask prior to this retail associate retail stores with more than fifty thousand square foot of uh shopping space along with certain establishments like bars restaurants tasting room social clubs lodging operations they all were required to require customers to wear face coverings and they could deny entry now they must deny entry and smaller entities as well must deny entry deny service deny per a person the right to remain in this facility i said before you know i didn't want a teenage clerk of a small mom-and-pop store to be forced to play kobe cop to someone who was refusing to wear a mask and being belligerent i still don't want to do that we've always respected and sought voluntary compliance so in addition to today today's executive order we're dedicating one hundred thousand or in remaining federal cares act funds to continue our keep it maine public awareness campaign by dhhs to emphasis emphasize the importance of these basic health and safety precautions wearing a face covering staying six feet apart washing your hands the department will also recruit holiday ambassadors much like this summer's this past summer's beach ambassadors will provide information and mass shopping areas in portland and other cities throughout the holiday season i want to be clear well we'll do everything we can to educate and encourage people to voluntarily comply and wear face coverage to protect their health and safety and that of others we have been communicating with law enforcement agencies as well and they stand ready to assist if there's any trouble in forcing this face covering requirement everybody knows about the mask mandate especially now that for the last month facilities have had to post the requirement publicly anyone who still insists on entering a store or other facility without wearing a mask or insists on taking it off after getting inside they can be and should be removed and charged with criminal trespass look right now more people are getting sick more people are going to the hospital more people are dying in maine with covert 19 in just the last month from november 11 to today seven thousand four people tested positive for cobit 19 in maine 310 people were hospitalized 92 people have died i know we share the enthusiasm about a vaccine but as dr shah has said several times this is no time to let down our guard this is the time to keep our guard up and make sure that the vaccine will be able to work in the coming months we have to keep ourselves protected short of closing businesses closing schools and requiring people to stay home which is the last thing i want to do especially during the holidays we are running out of available public health tools to reduce the co the spread of cobit 19. if today's targeted steps don't work more severe restrictions might be necessary including reducing gathering limits as other states have done or even business closures as some have done those options are a last resort they're a last resort because they have such a devastating effect on people their income and making them feel isolated think about it like this if a school closes and a child has to be home all the time and what if that child's parent is a nurse or doctor and can't find child care then they have to stay home and we're short another nurse or doctor in our hospital is when we can last afford it importantly maine has committed our entire allotment of federal cares at funds now without additional funds from congress our workers and our businesses would be hit even harder than they were last spring if we were forced to take so so many restrictions take so many additional measures to save lives in the coming weeks and months please to keep our businesses open this winter keep schools open sports alive again where are your face covering when you're in public places if you have to if you have to ask whether or not you should wear one of course the answer is yes even if you don't agree with the policy and the law requirement and the advice of professionals from dr shah dr fauci and so many many others why would you take chances why risk the health of yourself your family and others and health care workers too one thousand one thousand eight hundred eighty two i believe dr shah said one thousand eight hundred eighty two health care workers have been diagnosed with coca-19 think about that when you decide when you leave the house whether you're going to wear a mask or not please do it for them please don't make store employees jobs harder than they already are especially this holiday season those people have been serving maine on the front lines of this pandemic since the beginning look those who are listening are you headed to the mall right now are you going to the grocery store are you wearing a mask if not why not if you're home from school do you feel like you just gotta get out of the house and hang out with friends at their houses or at the local restaurant or bar or a coffee shop if you're alone do you feel driven to go see your best friend go to your son or daughter's house your neighbors share a hug or a cup of coffee or a beer please think twice think twice because covet is not taking the holiday off it is there at the coffee shop it is at your favorite diner it's in the booth of your favorite restaurant it's at your neighbors it's in the car it's in the store next to you on the sidewalk in the next pew at church it's in the seat behind you on the bus it is everywhere how would you feel if your mother got sick and had to go to the hospital or you get sick but there's no one there to take care of you because the intensive care unit is full the er is understaffed and the nurse on duty is exhausted after working a double shift to take care of kobe patients we need to commit to a different kind of holiday season this year often a quiet one perhaps a lonely one but a healthy one a safe one it means not having friends over for a holiday dinner it means not caroling not going to a crowded party or service because covet will be there it is everywhere i know things are hard right now i know what i'm asking of everybody it's hard but even in these dark nights there is still light and there will be light as the weeks and months come many of us are celebrating we're about to celebrate some remarkable holidays we're yearning to share food and drinking stories and give and receive hugs and give and receive gifts last night jewish families in maine and elsewhere lit the first candle in the menorah in celebration of the first night of hanukkah a symbol of light and resilience we can share in that this year during this challenging year in the dark of a maine winter and in the middle of a devastating pandemic the lighting of each candle and the menorah provides more light in the world even symbolically and it provides the hope and anticipation that tomorrow will be warmer and it will be brighter than today while our celebrations may look different this holiday season sma ler virtual even telephonic long distance these holidays remain as meaningful and spiritual as they did through other darker times through wars depressions storms and hardships but truly this year the best gift we can give and the best gift we can receive is health and now as in times past we will keep the faith in our communities and in ourselves alive because we are americans we remain strong and we will get through this together thank you and i'd be happy to entertain any questions thank you very much governor mills uh again commissioner johnson and commissioner wambru uh are also joining us as well and we'll turn to our colleagues in the media and the first question of the afternoon goes to charlie from the bdn yep hi uh governor mills and dr shaw and commissioners lambrew and johnson um i think probably my questions maybe are for dr shaw it's about the first allocation of the pfizer vaccine i i my question has changed slightly just with the new announcement about the second order of vaccines but um i guess it seemed last week that uh there were a couple hospitals with super cold freezers that were each getting 975 doses delivered to them um and then this new announcement has slightly different numbers it looks like some of those some hospitals are still getting 975 but it has different numbers for some other hospitals and i guess my question is just can you um clarify maybe i'm just misreading it or or did that plan change somehow um so uh charlie first of all the number that maine will be receiving has not changed uh that remains static what we've done in this latest version is because of the conversations that we have had with the chief medical officers of those institutions uh over the past couple of days we've been able to refine it a little bit more and recognize that for example some hospitals may have gotten initially an allocation of 975 which for example may have been more than the entire staff at the hospital in concert in consultation and in discussion with chief medical officers across the state uh what we've realized is that there were some hospitals again that could use a little bit extra in week one so what we've done in the latest version of the spreadsheet is is refine that a bit further so that's all it's the same raw number of doses with more granularity about where they would be going and i'll add to that question that we really do strive to figure out how we think about this holistically we appreciate that the need is great and the allocation that we're getting in the first week is relatively small so we are prioritizing those hospitals where they've had a significant proportion of inpatients with coven 19 to ensure that they have the staff should the surge in hospitalizations continue but week two allows us to broaden that we expect to be able to get to all hospitals that have registered with the uscdc some vaccine in week two we also will be working with ems in week two as well as beginning to get to home health and hospice workers who are on the front lines helping to keep people out of hospitals we do ask people for patients it's going to be a challenge for us to be able to get enough vaccines for people in maine but we are going to work through this process as equitably efficiently efficiently and quickly as possible okay uh and then just a sort of a quick follow-up the um the state's vaccine distribution plan had a an assessment i think of how many high risk for exposure frontline medical workers are at each hospital do you know will will um hospitals as they get the doses kind of be starting with that first group and then do you know what priority they'll be giving kind of past that for different types of workers sure what we've recommended is in keeping with the uscdc's guidelines that hospitals focused on the highest risk employees staff members within their institutions those are broadly speaking defined as any individual paid or unpaid who either provides direct patient care or could be coming in contact with infectious material even within that categorization the data suggests that there are some health care workers that are even then at a higher risk we've recommended to the hospitals that they proceed along that prioritization plan for the staff members within their facilities such that those who are at the highest risk of coming into contact with the patient with covet 19 or with infectious material that could harbor cova 19 that they be the ones who be prioritized for vaccination in the earliest weeks okay thank you i'm going to turn things over to patty white next thanks dr shaw um the first shipments of the vaccine is the plan to use those the doses strictly as the the first dose for people so that and then okay can you just explain that a little bit more sure uh patty what we have what we have been told and briefed by operation warp speed is that when doses are allocated for example the 12 675 from last week or the 37 hundred and fifty for week two that those represent the first doses that would be needed as part of the two dose series operation warp speed and the usc edc have additionally told us that they will on their end keep or hold back the second doses and send those to us at the appropriate week when they would be needed for administration that's what's been told to us that's thus far and we are building our planning assumptions around that okay great thanks and i've got a question about nursing homes a national cvs spokesperson told me that they've been told by the uscdc that they can't start administering the vaccines until december 21st is is there a similar time frame for maine generally speaking that is right i don't know that i would uh put it as strikingly as they did here here's the breakdown patty we um we it has been told to us by the uscdc which is really the organization that is engineering that partnership that there would be a two-week preparation period between the times between when states activated that partnership and between when the first clinics the first vaccination sessions would occur on-site and during that two-week period the uh the pharmacies would be working with the long-term care facilities skilled nursing facilities to do things like get obtain informed consent provide information about the vaccine itself just go through the scheduling process of when the clinics would be getting folks's names all of that back-end administrative work they would spend that time doing that time is expected to take roughly two weeks and so thus we were looking at the first weeks of those clinics starting approximately december 21st i don't know that we've received final or official confirmation of exactly when they would but we're anticipating them starting as soon as december 21st again to allow enough time for those things like informed consent education to family members all of those things to happen first great do you happen to have a ballpark for about how many nursing homes are participating in the cvs walgreens agreement i do uh it is 680 skilled nursing and other residential facilities across maine thanks i'm going to turn over to kevin miller at the press herald great thank you so much um first question is for uh governor mills so regarding your new executive order um you know we've all seen the inconsistency when we're out there in stores people not wearing masks and you know some sometimes the oftentimes the store is not choosing to not enforce that so i guess my question is if someone goes into a store and sees this what's their next step you know where do they take this who do they call what to report it do they call the police you know i guess what what's the next step when someone sees a problem and they see that it's not being enforced thanks kevin i mean the first step i'd recommend is talking to the manager of that particular facility that store first of all i would leave a store if there were people in there without mass i wouldn't want to expose myself to that possible spread of virus secondly call the manager thirdly call the local police and try to use friendly persuasion but if that doesn't if that fails then call the police um you know we have tools in the toolbox an extensive number of tools in the toolbox and we're ready to use them between now and when the when the vaccine finally takes place and and a follow-up question was this the decision to go with this is this strictly because of the increasing case numbers or were there specific events that that triggered it like for instance we saw down in pipsburg the selectmen down there have said that that they're not going to require their town require people to have masks when they're coming into their town office despite the existing executive order so is this in response to anything in particular or just the rising case numbers well you know if i would if i were running a facility any kind of facility or it's a town office or a business or a private business i would not want to take the risk first of all my insurance company wouldn't want me taking that risk either there's extensive liability involved potentially if someone is exposed in your facility and you've deliberately ignored the public health and safety precautions um you're asking what can be done i guess i i wasn't aware but of the particular um announcement that you referred to i'm happy we're happy to reach out to those people and talk to them about what the rules are and why they're there and how they should enforce them kevin if i could just add as well governor mills and i have spent some time in the last few days working with retailers the retail association of maine dana connors in the chamber of commerce really trying to look at effective solutions to protect employees to protect consumers and to keep business capacity as high as possible and so i think this is a really good step for that and lastly and back to the governor or to either of you you said that police stand ready to step in you know we've seen in other states that's that police have decided they are not going to enforce this um in some some places um are you confident that police are gonna be ready or be willing to come in and enforce it and to remove someone if they're trespassing i am look they all took an oath when they took office when they put on that badge as well when they went through their training at the academy which i participated in they understand that they are required to enforce the law in this case one of the most obvious laws is the law about criminal trespass somebody enters or remains into a in a facility uh private place without permission or with violating rules and that's why we had posted we had required the posting of a notice to give people fair warning when they try to enter a place without a face mask they are basically committing criminal trespass in addition to violating the executive order although they're used to enforcing those laws they will enforce these laws continue still great thank you thanks kevin i'm going to turn it over in your office governor thank you kevin i'm going to turn it over to amy brown next thank you continuing on that track how are businesses being notified about this change do you have some system for communicating with businesses i think i heard you say our business is being yeah do you have a system by which the businesses are formally notified of this change or will they just hear about it through the media and did you say when it goes into effect is it immediately it goes into effect yes thank you it goes into effect now okay now because there's been questions asked questions we've gotten for instance are well what if somebody comes to the door and says i don't have to wear a mask because i have a disability whatever that might possibly be and so questions have been asked well what can i do will i get sued for discrimination under the ada if i don't let somebody in without a mask well the greater problem is what about that person exposing other customers other people other employees store managers and whatnot that's the greater priority regardless of the merits of somebody saying they have a disability who can't have a medical exception so we're saying very clearly there's no medical exception that applies or that allows you to insist on coming into a facility a store and the like without a mask or insist on remaining in a store facility without a mask it's a clear bright line now so um that's one of the things we did how how we communicated this well we had about an hour-long zoom conference with a number of uh major businesses and retailers across the state just the other day and they expressed their issues i expressed my issues and i told them what i thought the options were and they at the end of that appeared to be all on board with more vigorous messaging more vigorous compliance and enforcement some of the some of the bigger operations clearly are able to hire security guards to help enforce as well and they're they're um uh interested in doing that or they're doing that i guess so uh we've been talking to a lot of people and commissioner johnson talks to them more frequently than i do and answers questions and and talks with their uh ceos and their managed store managers uh and and advocates and lobbyists frequently so the local mom paw convenience store will find out through hearing about it through the media primarily or is some kind of is there another formal system for communicating with everyone so here is the quickest way isn't it i think go ahead sorry governor yeah so we have a number of ways that we communicate with businesses across the state including associations that these businesses are members of additionally we use social media we have a web presence and for the people that we have had contact with for a variety of reasons including that they've downloaded coveted prevention checklists we push out emails to them so that they're as we're aware as quickly as possible okay great thank you and uh dr shah i i have a few questions from listeners i'll give you one today but uh a listener's wondering about what you've said in the past about wanting to see that all of these vaccines are well independently peer reviewed before you would sign off on being okay with them is that part of the process before they're given the emergency you thought use authorization are you satisfied that they are being well independently peer-reviewed uh that is part of the process the fda's scientific advisory comm committee uh goes by uh the name verback which is an acronym for something much longer uh they met all day yesterday they had an extensive marathon meeting to review every piece of the scientific data as well as the safety data and the efficacy data surrounding the pfizer vaccine candidate as we speak right now a companion advisory committee to the us cdc is meeting right now to consider those same data to make clinical recommendations in whom those that the vaccines are best suited for both of those advisory committees are filled with experts who are independent and not affiliated either with the government agencies or with the companies themselves so that is very much part of the process and it's important to note they do so in a transparent manner fda's committee meeting yesterday was broadcast for anyone to listen to and the uscdc's committee is equally broadcast and open to anyone to the public to listen in on their deliberations great thank you i'm going to turn over to steve at wmtw doctor thank you quick question about freezers knowing that you needed so many freezers to store the vaccine did you put out a call to borrow freezers and if so what was the response um you know steve i don't know that we we put it out as a call as such i don't want to make it seem as if we shot up a signal into the air or something of that nature we worked with partners with whom we typically work on logistics matters uh partners such as colleges and universities other entities across maine who had heard that these freezers would be something that states would need and as we were chatting with them about our vaccine planning we were also finding folks coming to us saying you are free to utilize our freezer for x period of time we had outreach from southern maine community college colby college a number of others and thanks to those w nderful partners in addition to ordering two freezers ourselves for our warehouse we've also been able to work with those partners to secure additional cold storage space at our central warehouse it's a just a great example of community collaboration it's a i mean i i you know uh folks when i went up when i was moving to maine talked about the spirit of community and for me this was example 1 900 something of the ways in which when we all need to come together it happens in maine and it definitely happened here uh i'm going to turn over to sam rogers at news center next thank you dr shah governor mills commissioner johnson i'm sure this will will go to you um and i know you've been speaking with you know realty uh groups and different types of businesses and what's the advice because you know personally i have seen in kind of bigger retail shops you know younger and teenage employees and you know trying to encounter um and approach older gentlemen that aren't wearing masks to try to enforce it and what's the the approach and the message that you are giving to these these stores and jobs and how to deal with somebody who uh doesn't want to wear the mask and and like you mentioned you know tries to say that they had health concerns or anything like that we're putting it on the owner manager operator of that facility that store whatever it is it is now their absolute responsibility to enforce the mask requirement no it shouldn't fall on a clerk who's working alone late at night who's you know earning low wages to make a living but it's got to fall on somebody and it's up to the management to figure that out if they're big enough a facility maybe they can hire security to be there to help out for that and for a lot of reasons and if it's a busy time of year which it is maybe they ought to be doing that uh and um they can have they can have they can reach out to the local law enforcement and to make sure they come quickly when they're called that kind of thing but um it's just too important for us to say you're excused from this you're waived you are not um required to do this because everybody is now everybody is our businesses know that the way to bring back the economy a way to reinvigorate the state of maine the way for cruise ships to be reconnected to the state of maine docking again next summer the way for the canadian border to be open so that 17 17 of our tourists can come back here and stay here and do business here the way for us to again brand our beautiful state as a safe place to come a safe place to shop a safe place to live work play and do business is for us right now universally together enforce this mask mandate yeah governor if i could as well you know i think sam the stores all have individual processes as the governor mentioned really centered around kind of managers stepping in and being helpful but certainly you know we are part part of the reason to do this is to protect these employees as well right they are if people are coming to the stores not wearing masks that puts them at risk as well so we're encouraging kind of everybody to work together and asking kind of consumers to do their part to help protect these employees as well and i know you both have mentioned a few minutes ago about tools and additional solutions if you don't mind kind of you know elaborating on what specifically those are uh and i know governor mills you had mentioned that these this executive order is you know trying to try to prevent uh those more severe restrictions and do you know is is there you know specific data that you're looking at to make that decision or is this going to be something you'll have to you know make it make a call in a few weeks or however long based on on where we are as a state thanks sam i'm watching we're all watching things day by day day by day and we're also talking about the dangers of holiday gatherings private or public we we issued these warnings before thanksgiving and i think many people were compliant observant of the public health health and safety protocols but many weren't and we're seeing uptick now statistically it's an uptick within weeks of thanksgiving we don't want to see that hit even harder after the current holidays and there are a lot of tools in the toolbox you can look at what other states have done i think governor cuomo today banned indoor dining other states have looked at their capacity limits and gone to lower numbers for indoor dining and indoor attendance of things and outdoors as well other states have closed things right up and technically that can be done um other states have changed the indoor outdoor gathering limits those are i think very extreme measures but they are there as tools um and we did that some of that last spring uh and people were pretty uh compliant but unlike last spring if we were to do that now right now today there would be no federal support to help keep those businesses alive keep unemployment benefits flowing to those who lose their jobs i don't want to see people lose their jobs we see unemployment benefits running out for 42 000 people just in a couple of weeks from now i want the federal government to step up to the plate as well to help us do our job and help our people stay safe i'm gonna turn it over to evan pop next hi dr shah thank you um so i have a question about the state's vaccine distribution plan um so there are nine states in one territory that have incarcerated people in the first tier of vaccine prioritization and as i understand it being currently dehydrated people in phase two we've heard from some advocates who want incarcerated people to be moved up to phase 1b which in maine includes older people living in congregate settings and so i'm wondering considering the outbreaks that have happened in prisons and jails in maine during the pandemic is maine cdc considering moving incarcerated people into phase 1b so and i think i'll just begin to answer that we right now are focused on the three weeks ahead of us the vaccines that we expect to get in these first three weeks and don't even cover half of what is 1a the healthcare workers and long-term care residents which is what the uscdc advisory group recommends so that is our focus right now we certainly will be turning to one b and c and phase two and three shortly thereafter but everything is on the table evan i'll add only that agreed with commissioner wember i don't think any final decisions have been made and we are really laser focused on getting vaccines say to frontline health care providers ems clinicians long-term care facility residents that all being said we fully recognize the difficulty and the impact that covet 19 can have on say the families who may have someone who is incarcerated it's already a difficult time but having knowing that a family member is an incarceration right now with covet 19 out there certainly adds a level of added concern and we appreciate that all of these things are under discussion right now but we're also simultaneously really focused on making sure we get the vaccine to healthcare facilities ems clinicians as quickly as we can and um just as a as a follow-up to that um i was wondering if you could shed some light on what the difference is in the timeline um a vaccination for someone for example who's in in phase 1b versus uh phase two i read in in the draft plan that phase one is expected to take about six weeks is that still kind of about the thinking it really does depend on what the production of the vaccines is that is probably the the major governing variable for how quickly maine and other states can move through the various phases it really is a function of how much vaccine is being produced we have been preparing for months now to make sure that there are as many vaccinators people who can vaccinate as a as our as are able to and as are available so we believe our capacity to receive the vaccine although we still need more to do uh is something that we can make sure we can get vaccine in but the main variable that will govern how we move through those phases is how much vaccine we get great um and governor mills just a question for you um i think it's probably fair to say that 2020 has been a challenging year for a lot of people in maine with the virus and a lot of other issues going on um but i was wondering if anything comes to mind for you as a specific policy that was passed or put in place this year or something else in politics or public policy that you think maybe was a bright spot when it comes to 2020. i think i heard you ask about any bright spot in public policy during this past year there have been a lot of bright spots not just in public public policy but in the way that folks with good hearts and good souls have stepped up to the plate and helped others you know mr rogers said his mother said when times are bad look for those who helping who are helping other people they're everywhere and to see you know people at american roots and llb idecs flowfold so many businesses and small groups across the state across the state here helping make ppe helping get people back to work making testing equipment at abbott idex swabs at puritan the main community colleges have stepped up to the plate to train people in coventry covered respectful hospitality jobs things of that sort it's not just one one simple policy although i have to say when the legislature left in march they left us with good tools they left us with expanded flexibility with unemployment and things of that sort and there's a lot of goodwill out there i think we've seen that as much as anything else despite the despair of some of these statistics and the daily death count daily case count the daily hospitalizations there is as there has been shown as much goodwill as anything else in the state of maine's last nine months thank you i'm going to turn it over to patrick whittle next thank you very much and thank you for bearing with me while i was turning off the mute um a couple of things um i'm assuming we don't yet have a hard date on when the first healthcare workers in the state of maine could be could be vaccinated is there even an as early as type date at this point patrick i hesitate to provide one um there's just there's a lot of it's this then this then if not this then maybe this so i i just nothing has been set in stone at the federal level yet and thus it's difficult for us we have a a range of when it might happen and of course we are ready to take the baton we've been running for a while now when we're ready to have the baton pass to us so we can accelerate and sprint even further but i i don't want to don't want to pre-judge the situation there's just so many variables we anticipate that it will be sometime next week but beyond that i it's just really difficult to predict i think what patrick i think what patrick is asking is will to be a photo op as there wasn't united kingdom will you be there [Music] you know levels that while the advisory committee yesterday made the recommendation to support for the vaccine to be approved it has not yet been approved so they think it's important that is the key point where everything starts but we're not quite there yet yeah good good and then and then to fill up the commissioner's thought after that authorization happens then the vaccine has to be shipped uh it's got to be unpacked it's got to be reconstituted uh healthcare workers have to be ready to go and so there are a number of steps patrick and that's why again it's a lot of ifs perhapses hopefullys and then all of those things get coming together to vaccine actually occurring but we're looking at next week possibly that is what we are planning for okay oh it's more of a window than we had a couple days ago um also there's there has been some some reporting that uh the federal government is earlier in the pandemic passed up on a chance to lock in more doses of the pfizer vaccine and that that could potentially delay the broader the broader rollout so has that moved the window at all are we looking more at end of q2 beginning of q3 for a broad rollout or do we not know that i'll start um patrick we we are still looking at that end of q2 beginning of q3 uh and that is what we've been briefed out on by the uscdc i'm aware of the reports that you referenced um i don't know to what extent those have altered or been a part of what the window is i will tell you that the window that we've been given has been relatively within that time frame for some time now but i simply just don't have enough information and can't speculate as to whether the reports that you reference have altered that window in some way but i'll let commissioner rambo and the governor weigh in as well so uh governor last week spoke with our congressional delegation who has written a letter asking for more visibility and transparency into the vaccine supply because as we strive to prepare to vaccinate people a main that type of information is essential for our plans so we are hopeful that we get more answers to help us look out one week two weeks three weeks one month one quarter and that type of information is essential for our planning i'd agree i would agree and i'm no defender of the current administration in washington i mean there were two issues why were the why would the estimated number of vaccine doses so much higher than what ended up being the case and and secondly why did the federal government decline pfizer's offer of several months ago to order another another 100 million on top of the current 100 million and i think that offer was made at a time when people did not rightly know whether fisa would be approved whether modern would be approved astrazeneca would be approved so i mean i think there are reasons why that negotiation uh did not succeed so uh to put about to put a bow on this at the moment we're we're still looking at nq2 beginning q3 and it's still a moving target is that still a fair thing and and and just to be even just to be even more uh granular patrick for the for the thing that we're talking about that's sort of community level vaccination individuals who are say for example under the age of 65 who do not have serious medical conditions uh yes for that for the for those folks um that we you know it is still a moving target as you say there's not been firm set so much depends on production uh consistent with what earlier question but yes that's the time frame the window that we're hoping to be uh starting to vaccinate folks in and to put another bow on it patrick that is exactly why dr shah has been saying repeatedly it is why we have to keep our guard up continue the precautions take them even more seriously than before because of the rising numbers because the vaccine really won't be effective if the virus is already prevalent in our communities right thank you very much and i'm going to finally turn to brian sullivan for the final question of the relegated to the back i must have made robert angry i'll have to send him an email uh i have a question about athletics um specifically the university of maine i know that the the school has put in for an exemption to the 50-person indoor gathering limit and i was just wondering as they've started their seasons on the road uh maybe for the governor or commissioner lambrew if uh that was going to be granted if they might be allowed to play a home game in an alphond arena for instance where it is larger and maybe an exemption might be granted i'll just begin and say right now with our cases rising our positivity rate rising we have been looking hard at what our policies are including our indoor gathering limit i think that we're always concerned about changing those policies when we have this kind of spread we do recognize that there are some settings that are big and spacious where there might be a way to accommodate public health but i think at this time we have some concerns but i don't know governor governor mills if you want to add anything to that no i share those concerns look we didn't give an exemption to oxford plain speedway last summer we haven't given exemptions to people with large facilities of other sorts um it's really tough to make exemptions on and stray from the general rule especially when many states are reducing the indoor gathering limits not expanding them not granting more exemptions thank you and uh doctor i have a question uh for you just about the vaccine orders and maybe you've covered it in a previous briefing but how do you arrive at uh the first order being 12 000 and the next being uh 37 000 is that um just what they tell you you can have or how do you arrive at that number yeah you you put your finger right on it again you use that interesting word arrive at uh it's uh there there is a centralized database uh that that states have and that we share in conjunction with operation warp speed it goes by the uh intriguing name tiberius uh and uh uh it is in in it is in this database called tiberius where our allocations are given to us and then we place orders orders in quotes against those allocations and by which i mean order we provide the names and addresses of the sites that we would like them sent to uh certainly if we had our druthers uh we would not be ordering twelve thousand six hundred and twenty five thousand there would be extra zeros on top of all of those things but this is what this is what we are allocated and our goal is to within those allocations make sure we're getting vaccine to the most vulnerable mainers and the people who provide care for them thank you all uh governor before i turn it over to you to close this out i neglected this afternoon everyone to provide an update i apologize for skipping over it uh but to provide an update on our positivity rate and so my apologies for that before i turn things back over to governor mills however our seven-day positivity rate right now in maine stands at 4.62 for pcr tests again that's 4.62 for pcr tests and our seven-day testing volume in maine stands at 634 pcr tests for every 100 000 people i apologize for skipping over that governor mills i'd like to turn things over to you to close us out thank you dr shaw all right and i just want to say that first of all our condolences also go out to those who haven't passed away due to covid directly but those who have encountered tremendous side effects and tremendous after effects of the environment surrounding the virus and that includes the young man in brunswick who lost his life to suicide about whom there's been a fair amount of publicity we all want to open the schools we all want to open up sports again i raised five girls in the state they love school sports and community sports i love i love community sports and i love to have the schools open again and vibrant as places where communities can get together and share things and where kids can truly learn face to face we're the teachers that we honor so much every day but if we can get through these holidays this holiday season if we can get through the next weeks and months to look at when a vaccine is is available to everyone and administered to everyone who's eligible then we will get back to that point and our businesses will thrive again and we'll do everything we can to support them and um for all those who have kids at home please hug them when you can make sure they know they're wanted and loved they're feeling isolated too they're feeling scared as well the people i miss the most right now not just my friends and my kids but my grandkids but recently i had a chance to zoom with the two-year-old and four-year-old granddaughters i call them grand girls because they are and they were making turkey pot pie with their mother and i helped to make turkey pot pie over zoom which is not easy but at least you don't get your hands dirty it was so much fun so much fun took a lot longer than usual but when a four-year-old is cutting carrots with a butter knife anything like that takes a long time but we had as much fun i couldn't give them hugs and kisses i couldn't tuck them in at night but i could be with them in every significant way except physically and i intend to keep doing that i hope you do too with your friends and loved ones so please stay safe this weekend and every week every day stay healthy keep maine strong thank you thank you everyone thank you for joining