The state’s top doctor on Wednesday said he’s not yet ready to lift a recommendation that schools impose indoor mask mandates.

“When it comes to masking in schools, we’re not there yet,” said Dr. Nirav Shah during his weekly press briefing. “The trends are encouraging and the trends are favorable. What we are looking for now is continued stability.”

That will mean decreasing hospitalization rates, lower positivity rates and lower rates of COVID in wastewater tests, said Shah, the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. On Wednesday, the state reported 249 people hospitalized with COVID, down from 291 on Sunday and the pandemic high of 436 set just over a month ago.

Shah said COVID rates are falling and 54% of all school age children in Maine have been vaccinated. He said when you add those to the 35,000 children who have had COVID since the beginning of the school year, it means the risk of transmission is lower.

Unlike in other states, Maine does not have a statewide mask mandate in schools or other public places. Recently, public officials in California, Illinois and New York announced an end to mask mandates in many public spaces, but have kept them in place in schools, according to The Washington Post.

Shah cautioned that next week’s school vacation week could lead to a spike in cases when children return to school Feb. 28. With that in mind, the state announced Wednesday that all Mainers are eligible for five free COVID at-home tests. The Project Access COVID Tests were initially only available for those in low-income areas, but the state has now opened it up to all residents, said Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew.

The tests can be ordered at AccessCovidTests.org.

Shah said following school vacation week, the Maine CDC will take several days to monitor the virus’ spread in schools and then reconsider whether it’s necessary to keep the mask recommendation in place.

In addition, Shah said the state is no longer tying school mask mandates to contract tracing. That means schools can suspend contact tracing regardless of whether they have a mask mandate.

“We’re doing this after discussions with superintendents because of the continued data showing that the omicron variant spreads quickly, so quickly in fact that contract tracing loses its effectiveness regardless of whether there is masking in place,” he said.

Moving forward, Shah said he’s keeping an eye on a subvariant of the virus that’s circulating in Denmark and Norway that appears to be more contagious than omicron. He urged Mainers to remain vigilant despite COVID fatigue – and to get vaccinated.

“I know we’re tired,” he said. “I know everyone wants to be over with it. We’ve just got to counterbalance that desire with being vigilant for what’s down the pike.”