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1. Maine’s COVID-19 case rate went from the lowest in New England to the highest in the two weeks leading up to the Labor Day weekend. The seven-day average of new cases as of Friday was 383, up from 105 a month earlier. COVID-19 hospitalizations reached 180 on Monday.
2. MaineHealth will postpone some elective surgeries to make room for those hospitalized with COVID-19. All of the hospitals in the system are reducing surgeries that require a hospital stay after surgery.
3. The Portland City Council will discuss re-instating a mask mandate regardless of vaccination status for indoor spaces today. If the mandate is approved, it would apply to all public indoor spaces, not just municipal buildings.
4. The Portland Board of Education rejected a proposal Tuesday night to require staff get vaccinated against COVID-19. The resolution failed by a vote of 5-4. Portland is the first school district in Maine to vote on a possible mandate.
5. Apple revealed that its fall reveal event will take place on September 14th at 1:00 pm Eastern. The tagline for the rollout is “California streaming.” Those in the Apple-verse feel confident that iPhone 13 will be announced. iOS 15 will most likely be revealed as well. Apple has other projects that could make the cut for next week’s event, including a new Apple Watch, Airpods, and MacBook Pros.