Gov. Larry Hogan says Maryland must see a declining number of COVID-19 cases before the state’s non-
essential businesses can reopen, but the number of confirmed cases continued to rise over the week. The state reported 1,150 new cases on Saturday alone.
“The number of new COVID-19 cases must go down for 14 consecutive days, and that just hasn’t happened yet,” says Dr. Fredia Wadley, Health Officer for Talbot County.
“We expect our numbers of confirmed COVID- 19 cases to climb as testing increases, but other things including new hospital admissions and the death rate have not declined,” says Dr. Wadley.
This indicates that Maryland hasn’t peaked yet. These primary benchmarks must go down for 14 consecutive days, and that just hasn’t happed yet.”
Outbreaks at poultry processing plants in Maryland and Delaware have caused the number of cases on the Eastern Shore to climb sharply. Though Talbot County has not had a significant number of cases linked to chicken processing plants, some counties on the Mid-Shore and Lower Shore have experienced increases.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has deployed teams to Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia to respond to these outbreaks. State and local officials are working together to implement measures that will decrease the spread of the virus, including messaging to the Hispanic populations in each state.
In Talbot County, the Health Department partners with the Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center to reach the local immigrant community.
“The immigrant community here in Talbot County is caught demographically in a bad place,” says Executive Director Matthew Peters. “Most are low income and most are considered essential employees. They work in food service, landscaping, construction, and housekeeping.
“Each and every day as they go out to work they are putting themselves more at risk,” he explains. “Over time that risk just keeps accumulating. All it takes is one person to bring in the virus, and it will spread very quickly.”
Staff at the Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center work with the Health Department to translate information and to get it directly to the immigrant community. Some staffers have even been tapped to be trained to help with contact tracing.
“This is new for everybody,” Peters says. “We have to digest information and make sure it’s pertinent before we pass it along. If we don’t know the answer, we ask Dr. Wadley or we get information directly from the sheriff. Trust is an easy thing to break. We want to make sure we are sharing accurate information with our clients.”
While the spread of the disease in area chicken plants is concerning, Dr. Wadley says it’s equally disconcerting that some local businesses that are considered essential simply aren’t taking sufficient measures to protect their employees and customers.
“I am getting complaints every day about businesses that are open but are not accepting their responsibility to take precautions to limit the spread of COVID 19,” Dr. Wadley explains. “We have spent more than two weeks educating businesses about the need for social distancing and the importance of wearing masks.
“While some are taking this seriously, we have some employers who tell their staff not to ask customers to wear a mask,” she says. “Everyone is anxious to reopen, but not everyone wants to wear a mask. Some employers still are not willing to enforce precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These attitudes and behaviors are not only spreading the virus and increasing our numbers, they are delaying reopening.”
The warm late spring weather has caused some Talbot County residents to chafe under the stay-at-home restrictions. “With the weather change, we all want to get out and go,” says Corey Pack, President of the Talbot County Council. “But we have to remember that this is a very, very contagious disease. If we commit to doing our part and maintain the course, we will get through this.”
Talbot County Public Schools
TCPS meal distribution will be on Tuesday, April 28 and Friday, May 1 from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. at all school sites. Sodexo is now providing frozen food items that will require refrigerated storage and reheating. If you are unable to pick up meals and need emergency delivery, please call Crystal Miller at 443-432-5091.
The TCPS Instructional Technology Help Desk will be open on Tuesday, April 28 from 9:00 a.m. to noon and Friday May 1 from noon – 3:00 p.m. at Easton High School and St. Michaels Elementary School. Please email [email protected] for virtual support or to schedule a help desk appointment for iPads or laptops.
TCPS encourages parents to wear masks/cloth face coverings during meal pickups or IT Help Desk visits to help fight the spread of COVID-19.
We are determined to support our students to earn the credits for their currently enrolled courses. We will be sending information out today about 3rd quarter progress reports, and plans for grading for the 4th quarter. The Hot Spots purchased through the Talbot Family Network Grant are in and being programmed. They will be distributed this week, and we will be outfitting buses with Hot Spots for some of our rural areas.
Help us celebrate the Class of 2020! We are asking our Seniors and their families to share photos of themselves wearing gear and/or holding signs to celebrate their commitments to college, career, or the military to post on the TCPS Facebook page. Please email photos to [email protected].
“I am so very proud of our students, as they have handled the loss of many special events and activities this year extremely well,” said Dr. Kelly Griffith, Superintendent. “We are trying to do as much celebration and recognition for students and staff virtually as we possibly can, and we appreciate everyone’s ideas, patience and support.”
Where to Find More Information:
• CDC COVID-2019 Website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
• Talbot County COVID-19 Information www.talbotcovid19.org
• Shore Regional Health COVID Information https://www.umms.org/shore/patients-visitors/coronavirus
• Maryland Department of Health Website: https://health.maryland.gov/pages/home.aspx
• Talbot County Health Department Website: https://health.maryland.gov/talbotcounty/Pages/home.aspx
• Maryland COVID-19 Website: https://governor.maryland.gov/coronavirus
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