For most of us in Maine, it’s been another week at home, and another week of helping our friends and families navigate the greatest public health crisis of our time. I know many of us are feeling nervous, even helpless. For some people, bills are piling up while little income is coming in. For others, the demands of homeschooling children are competing with work responsibilities. And for many, this is taking an emotional toll as we worry about the health and wellbeing of our loved ones. As we continue to navigate this situation, I wanted to share more resources and updates.

All of us are worried about the toll our COVID-19 response is taking on our economy. To help the state reopen as soon as it is safe to do so, Gov. Mills announced a set of guiding principles and a phased approach that will allow her, with the help of medical professionals and business owners, to facilitate our reopening. As of May 1, the “Stay Healthy at Home” has been replaced by the “Stay Safer at Home” order. This order outlines a four stage plan to reopening Maine’s economy, opening more and more kinds of businesses each month, expanding limits on group sizes, and slowly lifting social distancing guidelines over the course of the summer. More details can be found at www.maine.gov/covid19/restartingmaine. I know this leaves many of our businesses closed, which continues strain on the economy, but I want people to know there is room for this plan to change. If you have suggestions for how to reopen the economy, you can submit them here: https://appengine.egov.com/apps/me/decd-suggestions

For our community in particular, tourism is a concern. As we get closer to summer, we need to figure out how to support the industry through what will most certainly be a truncated season. In 2018, 37 million people visited Maine. Those guests added $610 million to our state tax base and were responsible for $2.6 billion going directly to workers. As we operate on a much smaller scale, our municipalities and the bars, restaurants, hotels, shops and more that rely on our visitors will be hard-pressed to come out of this crisis. The state has implemented a phased approach to get all of our economy back up and running, and I know our communities are thinking about this on the local level, but I am working to ensure there are stronger, more specific regional and statewide discussions to address the tourism industry in particular.

On another note, I wanted to take a moment to thank the frontline COVID-19 responders are putting their health on the line every day for us. From the health care workers taking care of our sick to our law enforcement officers keeping us safe, I am grateful to you, and I recognize the additional stress being placed on you at this time. I want to share that the Mills administration has announced the FrontLine Warmline, a phone line that will help callers to deal with anxiety, irritability, stress, grief or worry and, if needed, connect you with additional supports. The line is staffed by volunteer professionals, including licensed psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, social workers and nurse practitioners. The FrontLine Warmline is available to clinicians and first responders from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week by calling (207) 221-8196 or 866-367-4440.

The guidance and resources shared here are certainly not enough to put out minds at ease. Every day is difficult right now, and there is more work to do. Please continue to reach out to me for help when you need it. I am available at 207-287-1430 or Holly.Stover@legislature.maine.gov

Rep. Stover, D-Boothbay is serving her first term in the Maine House and represents Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Edgecomb, part of South Bristol, Southport and Westport Island.