Maine alone in New England in not reporting pandemic cases by town

Maine is now the only state in New England that won't release the number of Covid-19 cases by town, rather than by county.

Vermont on Monday introduced the higher-resolution reporting. Rhode Island releases their case information on a zip code level.

As I report in today's Portland Press Herald, many experts say this is a mistake at this stage in the pandemic, especially as the policy conversation turns to how one considers loosening social distancing restrictions -- often a municipal decision in Maine and other "home rule" states. Maine has also lagged the other five New England states in many measures of data sharing, and remains the only state in the region that can't report negative test numbers on a daily basis.