Maine Bars Will Stay Closed Due To Coronavirus Surge

PORTLAND, Maine (CBS/AP) — Dejected voters looking to cry in their beers over Election Day's results will have to do so at home. Monday was scheduled to be the day Maine bars reopened, but they did not, due to a surge in coronavirus cases. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills postponed the reopening of bars and tasting rooms indefinitely.

Maine is coping with a spike in COVID-19 cases that has affected most of the country. The state had more than 100 cases in a single day for the first time on Oct. 29.

The continued closure of bars is a hit to the economy of a state that loves beer. Portland has the most craft breweries relative to the size of its population of any American city, according to a 2019 story in Food & Wine magazine.

Other new restrictions in the state take effect on Wednesday. They include a reduction in indoor capacity from 100 to 50 and stricter rules on interstate travelers.

Maine is removing New York, Connecticut and New Jersey from its list of states that are exempt from travel restrictions, Mills said. That means visitors from those states must quarantine for two weeks or produce a negative coronavirus test.

"If we do not control this outbreak, we may never get this evil genie back in the bottle," Mills said.

Coronavirus