PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 31, 2020
The current public health guidance is that it’s harder to catch COVID-19 outdoors. That has businesses such as restaurants, gyms, day care centers, breweries and even manufacturers thinking about how to accommodate virus-wary visitors in the open air or in unenclosed tents where air can circulate. But with cooler weather on the horizon, business owners are trying to figure out how to keep their patrons comfortable outdoors. The pandemic could be an opportunity to revisit Mainers’ hardy heritage, according to Andy Shepard, general manager of the Saddleback Maine ski resort, if for no other reason than the mental health benefits of being outside during stressful times.