State courts in Maine will again cut back the hours they are open to the public Monday to help limit the community transmission of COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus.

With Gov. Janet Mills having announced stricter limits on public gatherings last week, including banning gatherings of more than 10 people, the Piscataquis County Commissioners and county officials are taking steps to meet remotely and keep the public involved should the order still be in place for the next regular meeting of the commissioners at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7.

Under the authority granted to her during a State of Civil Emergency, Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday issued an executive order mandating that all non-essential businesses and operations in Maine close their physical locations that are public facing, meaning those that allow customer, vendor or other in-person contact. The order also closes non-essential business sites that require more than 10 workers to convene in a space where physical distancing is not possible. Non-essential businesses and operations may continue activities that do not involve these types of in-person contact and convenings, and should facilitate the maximum number of employees working remotely.

State and federal courts in Maine are reducing operations to help reduce community transmission of the coronavirus and to protect employees who interact with the public. Courthouses will remain open and sufficiently staffed to ensure access for those who request protection from personal violence and whose liberty interests are at stake, according to a statement issued Sunday by the judicial branch. 

Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced stricter limits on public gatherings on Wednesday, ordering restaurants and bars to stop dine-in service effective that day, banning social gatherings of more than 10 people and urging many private businesses to close.

Before adjourning on Tuesday because of the coronavirus, the Maine Legislature passed a package of bills letting municipalities and schools operate on current budgets through January and giving Gov. Janet Mills wide authority over the June primaries.

As the state and nation copes with the coronavirus and works to limit its spread, officials in Piscataquis County are handling conditions the best they can.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills declared a civil emergency on Sunday as the state announced seven confirmed positive tests of the coronavirus with another five likely cases over four days, including a couple that lives in a Falmouth retirement community.

A 22-year-old Rhode Island Man died on the afternoon of Saturday, March 14 when his snowmobile went off trail and struck a tree at a high rate of speed in the southern end of Baxter State Park.

Roughly half or more of all Maine adults -- particularly older and rural people -- are at risk of developing serious illnesses if they contract the new coronavirus, making the state’s older population one of the most vulnerable in the U.S. to the virus.

A 42-year-old Bangor man died on March 8 after he was unable to stop at a snowmobile trail intersection and crashed into the trees.

Should the need arise, the county has up to a $1.75 million line of credit, with a 2.45 percent interest rate, with Androscoggin Savings Bank after the Piscataquis County Commissioners and Treasurer Johanna Turner signed the paperwork during a March 3 meeting.

The Wiscasset man who died Sunday was the seventh person to be killed in a snowmobile crash in Maine in a little more than a month, and the third in three days, making this winter an above-average season for snowmobile-related deaths.

A Wiscasset man died on Sunday, Feb. 23 following a fatal snowmobile crash on Moosehead Lake. Gregory Lemar, 59 from Wiscasset, was operating a late model Arctic Cat 800 snowmobile toward Rockwood from Greenville shortly after 5 p.m.

A man from Massachusetts died in a snowmobile crash south of Baxter State Park on Friday, Feb. 21. Alan Paquette, 55 from Ashburnham, Massachusetts, was killed shortly before noon when the snowmobile he was operating crashed on Interconnecting Trail System (ITS) 86, about 3.5 miles East of Abol Bridge.

The Maine attorney general’s office has asked a federal judge to dismiss an ex-police officer’s lawsuit against the Penobscot County district attorney on the same grounds that an appeals court threw out a similar lawsuit in 1992 against the man who was then the county’s top prosecutor. 

The American Red Cross of Maine and the Dexter Fire Department  are teaming up to make town residents safer by installing free smoke alarms in their homes, helping them create escape plans and providing other fire safety tips.

A game warden and members of Millinocket Fire Department responded and located the subjects on the west side of the lake. The Sutchs were taken by rescue sled to an awaiting ambulance and transported to Millinocket Regional Hospital where they were treated for mild hypothermia. Both are recovering and have been released from the hospital.