The Brunswick Town Council met remotely Monday night. Hannah LaClaire / The Times Record

BRUNSWICK — The Brunswick Town Council renewed the town’s emergency shelter-in-place order Monday night with a few changes that councilor Dan Ankeles said should rectify some of the “unintended consequences” of the order “without causing a public health threat.” 

The changes relax two of the town’s restrictions.

The first raises the number of children allowed in a child care setting from 10 to 12, and the second allows for “legal accounting and title services that cannot reasonably be accomplished remotely.”

Last week, the town council adopted a civil state of emergency, effectively enacting a town-wide shelter-in-place order to stop the spread of the coronavirus. 

Like the original order, the renewed order is in place for seven days, at which point the council will revisit and, if necessary, revise and renew. The town council will meet every Monday night to touch base and update the public until further notice. 

Under the new rules,  all stores or businesses outside of a list of 27 “essential” industries, must close. The order, including the complete list of essential businesses, is available on the town’s website.

Tuesday, Gov. Janet Mills issued a statewide stay-at-home order, mandating that people only leave their homes for work or essential services such as medical care or to get food or exercise.

Under the order, essential businesses must limit the number of customers in their store based on square footage and move to curbside or delivery service as much as possible. The mandate is in place until April 30. 

On Monday, councilors briefly considered rolling back some of the town’s restrictions, which would have expanded the number of essential services to align with the broader statewide list and allow customers to enter restaurants. A motion to do so was ultimately rescinded. 

“We’re at the tipping point where things are really starting to ramp up,” Brunswick Fire Chief Ken Brillant told the council. “You can go backwards but in a day or two we could be right back where we are today.”

“I don’t think we should be easing up on restrictions at all,” Councilor Steve Walker said. “You can’t enforce common sense and common sense doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone.” 

“I see the value of coordination so there’s no confusion or differing standards,” Councilor Christopher Watkinson added. “However, my concern is that it’s the opposite direction of where things need to be headed. I don’t think we’ve seen the peak of this yet and eventually more stringent standards are going to be necessary.” 

Tuesday, Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, announced 303 confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, as well as five deaths linked to the disease in Maine. Of the cases, 169 are in Cumberland County, where Shah said there is evidence of community transmission. Thirty-seven people in the county have completely recovered, according to the CDC. 

The council also temporarily suspended the requirement that residents use the town-specific blue trash bags. 

The council agreed that going to the grocery store specifically for the bags presents an unnecessary risk at a time when people are being urged to stay home whenever possible, as well as an additional expense when many people are out of work and experiencing financial hardships. 

Mason urged those who can afford the bags and who might still be going to the store to continue using them, as funds will ultimately go toward helping the town close the Graham Road Landfill next year. 

The council will likely try to restart some form of “business as usual” in the coming weeks, as some projects, like the new school and the fire station, are still moving forward. 

Councilors will also resume budget discussions soon, and Town Manager John Eldridge said he expects that despite the pandemic, the town will still be on track for a timely budget adoption.