Nirav Shah

Maine’s largest hospital is out of ICU beds for COVID patients as the governor activates the National Guard to help health care professionals statewide.

Saying Maine is at a “tipping point” amid a sustained surge of COVID-19, Gov. Janet Mills on Wednesday announced the activation of the Maine National Guard to help alleviate capacity constraints at hospitals. She is also asking the Biden administration for federal COVID-19 response teams to help. “These actions, we hope, will alleviate the strain on our health care system…

As millions of New Englanders make plans to travel somewhere near or far for Thanksgiving, some states in the region are setting all-time records for COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Maine, for one, hit its highest-ever single-day case rate this week, along with a record 280 hospitalizations and its highest two-week PCR test positivity rate. “Things are bad,” said Dr. Nirav…

As millions of New Englanders prepare to travel for Thanksgiving, states are experiencing a surge of COVID cases and hospitalizations — Maine hit all-time highs for both this week.

The head of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention used a radio appearance to call on residents to set aside anger and fear as the state battles a resurgence of the coronavirus. Maine has had more success than many states in controlling COVID-19, but cases have been rising in recent weeks. Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah told…

The number of daily coronavirus infections has quadrupled in Maine over the last four weeks, and the total count since the start of the pandemic has eclipsed 70,000 cases. The state’s top public health official, Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah, told the Bangor City Council that a return to indoor mask use is likely coming even for fully vaccinated…

As of Tuesday, Maine has an official state website for state residents to pre-register for coronavirus vaccines. The site, vaccinateme.maine.gov, will allow users to submit information that can eventually be used to schedule vaccine appointments.

Mainers can now get in line for their dose of the coronavirus vaccine when it becomes available.

Maine’s top public health official says the state is considering scaling back investigations into cases of COVID-19 to focus on the most vulnerable populations, as some other states have already done.

The surge of coronavirus cases in Maine has necessitated changes to the state’s contact tracing protocols, the state’s top public health officials said Monday. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer be able to keep in touch with individuals who test positive for the coronavirus over the course of their illness, said Dr. Nirav Shah,...

Maine moved into Stage 4 of its COVID-19 economic reopening plan on Tuesday, meaning many businesses and organizations were allowed to host more people inside ahead of the cool and cold weather coming in late fall and winter. Places like restaurants, movie theaters and religious gathering spaces are able to fill either 50% of their seats or allow 100 people…

Gov. Janet Mills on Friday accelerated the date that lodging businesses can welcome out-of-state visitors, citing encouraging signs in several testing benchmarks during the pandemic. Lodging establishments can welcome out-of-state visitors on June 26, instead of July 1, as long as they meet the 14-day quarantine requirement or the new testing alternative. New Hampshire and Vermont residents are exempt from…

Maine Gov. Janet Mills has convened a team that’s tasked with coordinating the state’s response to the potential spread of coronavirus. The response team led by Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah briefed the governor and her cabinet on Monday on efforts to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus and to protect public health. The meeting took place...