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AUGUST 7, 2020
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Sunfest: maybe and maybe not Council will consider cost, public interest in making decision
LISA CAPITELLI/OCEAN CITY TODAY
Isaias was one tricky tempest Some neighborhoods hit hard, but others emerge almost unscathed By Elizabeth Bonin Staff Writer (Aug. 7, 2020) Tropical Storm Isaias, which was a category one hurricane when it hit North Carolina, passed by Ocean City Tuesday morning, leaving a hopscotch pattern of damage in its wake. While some Worcester County neighborhoods experienced the minor damage expected of a weakened system, others saw particularly vicious instances of destruction. See ROOF Page 6
PHOTO COURTESY HAL ADKINS
Top photo: debris sits at the base of Triton’s Trumpet on 80th Street. Bottom: a bent lamppost attests to almost targeted gusts.
By Josh Kim Staff Writer (Aug. 7, 2020) Not willing to take a gamble without more information, the Ocean City Council on Monday tabled until next week a decision on how and even whether to stage Sunfest next month. “We have come to realize that even in the recovery process, the ability for us to execute this event is a pretty major unknown,” Special Director Frank Miller told the council. Miller presented a modified layout to the event along with several factors he believed the council should consider. First, he said, opinion was split 50/50 among the resort’s patrons and public over whether the event should take place. Specifically, Miller said he did not anticipate participation from people in the Baby Boomer age group. He also pointed out that New Jersey, New York and
Connecticut have placed Maryland on their quarantine lists. While the most of the event’s vendors and local businesses want Sunfest to proceed, the entertainment aspect of the summer’s end celebration would not be that robust, he said. The main headliners were a no go, he reported, as c o u n t y health officer ‘No matter R e b e c c a what decision Jones asked you make, the city not to use its you’re going to main enter- be under some tainment level of tent, per the scrutiny.’ state attorney general’s — Frank Miller “no audience” guidelines issued in June. “That definition states that concerts, shows and any other committee, recreational, leisure, cultural gathering may resume, but with no audiences,” Miller said. He added that because large-scale events have been frowned upon by mainstream media, proceeding with SunSee PUBLIC Page 5
County’s covid-19 numbers continue to rise more rapidly By Elizabeth Bonin Staff Writer (Aug. 7, 2020) Worcester County has the highest covid-19 positivity rate in Maryland at 6.43 percent, according to the Maryland Department of Health. Worcester’s rate has increased by 86 percent. On Wednesday, Hogan announced that Maryland has reached a seven-day positivity rate of 4.05
percent and a daily positivity rate of 3.08 percent, both record lows since the pandemic began. However, Johns Hopkins University has reported a positivity rate of around 6 percent. Its Covid-19 Testing Insights Initiative relies on data from the Covid Tracking Project, a volunteer tracking organization from The Atlantic. The Maryland Department of Health said that it will cease providing coronavirus testing to nursing
homes by Aug. 14. In June, Gov. Larry Hogan mandated testing for nursing home staff and residents. As of last Thursday, there have been at least 18 coronavirus-related deaths at the Berlin Nursing Home. For unknown reasons, the state health department no longer has the facility’s coronavirus cases listed. Attempts to reach the nursing home for comSee WORCESTER Page 2