This is the first weekend of our state’s reopening.
This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.
Now many people will be able to get health care for the first time in weeks, such important procedures that have been long postponed, a critical change.
Now Maine people can also worship with members of their faith under new guidelines.
These are meaningful first steps towards creating a new normal – a different way of doing business, of shopping, traveling, of worshipping and enjoying the Maine outdoors in ways that will keep us all safe, if we all pull together and follow the rules that are based on fact and science.
We will keep working to answer questions about the plan, and to address especially the needs of small businesses striving to survive in this new pandemic-driven economy.
Our plan is a flexible one and we are always open to constructive dialogue from workers and businesses and members of the public.
Meanwhile, some people say they are frustrated that the State is moving too slowly; they worry about the toll on the summer tourist season.
Others say they want to go back to work but are afraid of having contact with the public, including the people who come here every summer, from Boston, New York, New Jersey and other dangerous hot spots.
Some are engaging in partisan political chatter over this pandemic; but we know this virus plays no favorites: it doesn’t care whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, a Green or an Independent. It does not take political sides; it is an equal opportunity destroyer.
Others still are frustrated that we are opening up any businesses at all, because so many people in our state are older or have an underlying condition that puts them greatly at risk.
They know that more than 3,500 people have died in Massachusetts from this painful virus; more than 18,000 New Yorkers; more than 7,000 New Jersey people; more than 2,200 in Connecticut.
In one day this week, one day alone, 252 people died in Massachusetts – a state that is only fifteen miles from our border.
And in just the last 24 hours, the State of Georgia reported more than one thousand new cases.
That’s why, with every order I have issued and every action I have taken, I have thought long and hard about how Maine people – and Maine businesses -- may be impacted.
The challenges this pandemic poses to us and to our state are unlike anything we have seen in a hundred years.
We can’t simply flip a switch and open up all the restaurants, and bars, and businesses and do business as usual and risk a more aggressive resurgence of this deadly virus that will devastate our entire economy for years to come.
So, let’s continue talking, continue listening, continue being part of the solution.
We continue to collaborate with people from all economic sectors across the state to prepare them to open as soon as they can and as safely as they can. And every day, we are working on that testing capacity issue that is so critical to opening our economy.
This virus sometimes tests the limits of our patience and the limits of our economic stability. Let us show the world who we are. Let us show them that, no matter what the challenge, no matter the difficulty, we will persevere.
Let’s keep talking.
The last thing any of us want to do is to overwhelm our health care system and put the lives of our brave health care workers and first responders in jeopardy.
But it is because of your actions – and solely because of your actions – that the virus has not destroyed us, that we have kept a measured lid on this insidious disease.
Let’s work harder than ever in these next few months to keep this thing at bay and keep our people – and our economy – safe.
We can do this. I believe in you, in the faith, ingenuity and willpower of the people of Maine.
Maine people are not quitters.
People may angry and frustrated, some losing patience. But no matter what, we will listen to each other. We will work with each other. We will do everything in our power to keep each other safe. We will never give up on each other, never quit each other.
And I will never quit you.
This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.