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Maine Requires Visitors to Get COVID Test or Quarantine for 14 Days
Maine will require out-of-state visitors to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of arriving in the state if they want to avoid a mandatory quarantine of 14 days.
The new guidelines took effect July 1, the same day that trails above treeline on Mount Katahdin—including the Appalachian Trail—opened. Baxter State Park, home to Katahdin, opened some sites in the park below treeline on June 15.
Visitors from Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey are exempt from quarantine and a COVID test because the states have low virus counts. Other states could be exempted in the future.
Out-of-state visitors will be asked to sign a certificate of compliance at hotels, campgrounds, seasonal rentals, or other lodging that indicates they have received a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of their visit. Lodging facilities will hold onto the certificates for inspection by state officials.
Maine is asking visitors to get a COVID test before traveling to Maine. The state also provided a link to a website to find COVID testing outside Maine.
Once out-of-state visitors sign the certificate they can travel anywhere in Maine, but are still expected to follow social distancing and face covering guidelines.
The new guidelines announced by Gov. Janet Mills on June 8 also will increase symptom checks in high-traffic tourist areas.
Featured photo courtesy of Troy Zohner.
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Comments 2
Thanks for the article and I was wondering why we have to get a test in our home state? If I start a thru hike in Georgia and then flip flop to Maine, couldn’t I get a test in the state I’m flip flopping from then proceed to Maine or do I have to go home, get a test, then fly to Maine??
Samuel, Good question about home state. Although the official wording on the governor’s website says you should be tested in your home state, I think the point is that people get tested before traveling to Maine. I’ve rephrased the sentence to remove home state and added a web link provided by the Maine governor’s office that lists COVID testing sites nationwide.