Thank you to everyone who reported on the traffic conditions yesterday during Day One of our third no-left-turn weekend experiment of the summer. We would appreciate hearing from those of you who live on Sea Oats Trail and on other residential streets that backed up yesterday as to when the traffic finally cleared.
Sunday summer cut-through traffic is usually lighter than Saturday summer cut-through traffic. We are hopeful that today no Southern Shores resident will have to contend with a backup on any of the residential streets.
The no-left-turn prohibition is in effect today from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
As always, we welcome your comments.
COVID-19 UPDATE: Dare County reported 12 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, bringing the total to 313, of whom 181 are Dare County residents, and 132 are nonresidents.
The age breakdown of the 313 cases is as follows, according to the Dare County Dept. of Health and Human Services dashboard:
*49 are age 17 and under (about 16 percent)
*75 are ages 18 to 24 (about 24 percent)
*111 are ages 25 to 49 (about 35 percent)
*47 are ages 50 to 64 (about 15 percent)
*31 are age 65 or older (about 10 percent)
Most people who test positive for COVID-19 tend to have minor symptoms, according to Dr. Sheila Davies, director of the DCDHHS. Regardless of their symptoms or lack thereof, people who test positive must isolate in their homes for as long as the DCDHHS–or their home county health department, if they are nonresidents transferred out of the area–tells them to remain in isolation.
Only two people with COVID-19 are currently hospitalized, and each is in critical condition, according to Dr. Davies. There have been fewer than five hospitalizations of locally diagnosed people since the pandemic began.
The issue remains stopping the spread of the virus, which people can do by wearing masks, observing social distancing, washing their hands often, avoiding large gatherings, and being cognizant of situations when spread may occur, such as inside a poorly ventilated restaurant.
Direct contact with infected persons remains the primary means of virus transmission, according to Dr. Davies.
Ann G. Sjoerdsma, 7/26/20
The Southern Shores Beacon 
And then we have the Audi parked across the South Dogwood Trail sidewalk…. doesn’t help with the sidewalk flow…
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No car should be parked in the right-of-way, without Town permission–such as during a construction project. Residents can call the non-emergency phone number of Dare Central Communications to complain: (252) 473-3444. It’s the alternative to calling 911 for emergency assistance.
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Hi,
I’m interested in the counties of the nonresident COVID-19 people. Are they almost locals (ie. Curituck, Pasquatank, etc.) or weekly renters from further away that were probably infected before they got here?
Thanks….
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Thanks for your inquiry. The Dare County Dept. of Health and Human Services does not provide that information because of patient privacy. The local media have asked for it, but been denied. I can tell you that in her updates, which are posted Tuesday and Friday, Dr. Davies describes how every newly reported case acquired the virus. Many of the nonresidents acquire the virus either by direct contact with an infected person or by community spread outside of the area and then come to the Outer Banks and are diagnosed here. For example, all 10 of the nonresidents who tested positive for COVID-19 in Dare County whom Dr. Davies analyzed on July 24 acquired the virus outside of Dare County, by direct contact or presumed community spread. I used to report on the means of transmission of every COVID-19 case diagnosed here, but I recently decided that this reporting was excessive. If you go back through The Beacon archives, you’ll readily find these reports. It is rare that 100 percent of the new non-resident cases in a given time period trace to transmission outside of the area. It is more common to find that about 50-60 percent of them do. That’s my off-the-cuff, non-empirical sense based on my reporting.
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