High Rates of New Covid-19 Cases in Several Counties On the Eastern Shore
Jane Jewell • October 27, 2020
For much of the past two months, September and October 2020, some of the highest rates of new cases of covid-19 in Maryland have been on the Eastern Shore. For the week ending Saturday, Oct. 24, the three highest rates were all in Eastern Shore counties. Of Maryland’s 24 counties, Dorchester led the state with a rate of 257 new covid-19 cases per 100,000 population.
That was more than triple the state’s overall rate of 73 per 100,000 population.
The second highest rate for the week was 125 in Somerset County. Wicomico was third with a rate of 110. The fourth and fifth highest rates were not on the Eastern Shore but were in the rural western counties of Allegany (104) and Garrett (93).
Thus Maryland appears to be following a nation-wide pattern of fast-rising rates of covid-19 in smaller towns and rural areas. Covid-19 hit the big cities and more densely populated towns and suburban areas first and hit them hard. But now the pandemic is moving into more rural areas across the country.
However, not all the high rates were in rural areas, nor did all the rural areas have high rates. For example, Baltimore City at 91 had the 6th highest rate of new cases last week. Cecil County, which is mainly a combination of rural and suburban/small town areas in the northern part of the Eastern Shore, was 22nd of 24 counties with a low new-case rate of 47, considerably below the state average of 73. That’s quite a change from just a few weeks ago when Cecil County was sixth highest in the state with a rate of 68.
These rates and ranks can change rapidly as hotspots develop and restrictions are lifted or reimposed. The virus can spread widely in just a few days anywhere it gets a foothold. So more significant than an area’s one-week rate or rank is whether that rate is trending up or down. For example, this past week, Kent at 62 and Worcester at 65 had rates lower than the state’s average. Kent ranked 16th in the state, a seemingly big improvement from its rank of ninth highest number of new cases on Sept. 26. But a closer look at the data makes it apparent that Kent only seems to have improved. Kent dropped from ninth to 16th place, not because there were fewer cases of covid-19 in Kent, but because other counties had increased more! Kent’s rate per 100,000 population was 36 a month ago. But by Oct. 24, Kent County’s rate had almost doubled to 62.
In late September, the state-wide rate of new cases was 54 in Maryland. Now in late October, it has risen to 73. The increased rates in Maryland and across the country are due to several factors. One is the relaxing of and resistance to masks and social-distancing. Another significant factor is one that we can’t do much about — the weather. It seems that all the variations of the coronavirus — from the common cold to covid-19 — thrive in colder, drier weather. That’s a major reason why we have more colds and flus in the winter than in the summer.
A third important factor contributing to the current nation-wide upward trend in covid-19 is the re-opening of schools and businesses. Most of Maryland’s public school systems — 19 out of 24 — had opened this fall. Most had some combination of online and in-person classes. Colleges also started, most with virtual learning and few, if any, students on campus. However, several have since closed or gone more online since opening due to covid-19 outbreaks either among the students or in the community. In one case, Dorchester public schools started on Sept. 8 with about 20 percent of students attending in person. But by last week, the county had become a hotspot with its positivity rate jumping from 2.9 percent to 6.1 percent in just eight days. The rate of new cases went from 94 per 100,000 population in September to 257 on Oct. 24. Nine cases affected people related to the county schools — four teenage students and five employees. In another case in Caroline County, Greensboro Elementary closed for two weeks on Oct. 19 after eight staff members tested positive in just one week.
Where this all goes, we will have to see. Until then, mask up and keep your distance — and be safe.
Source: New York Times Covid-19 Data Base. Data is gathered and published by the Maryland Dept. of Health on their website with updates daily at 10:00 am.
Jane Jewell is a writer, editor, photographer, and teacher. She has worked in news, publishing, and as the director of a national writer's group. She lives in Chestertown with her husband Peter Heck, a ginger cat named Riley, and a lot of books.
Common Sense for the Eastern Shore
Right now, Congress is working on a fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs in order to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.
The House Agriculture Committee recently voted, along party lines, to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, helping more than 41 million people in the U.S. pay for food. With potential cuts this large, it helps to know who benefits from this program in Maryland, and who would lose this assistance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities compiled data on SNAP beneficiaries by congressional district, cited below, and produced the Maryland state datasheet , shown below. In Maryland, in 2023-24, 1 in 9 people lived in a household with SNAP benefits. In Maryland’s First Congressional District, in 2023-24: Almost 34,000 households used SNAP benefits. Of those households, 43% had at least one senior (over age 60). 29% of SNAP recipients were people of color. 15% were Black, non-Hispanic, higher than 11.8% nationally. 6% were Hispanic (19.4% nationally). There were 24,700 total veterans (ages 18-64). Of those, 2,200 lived in households that used SNAP benefits (9%). The CBPP SNAP datasheet for Maryland is below. See data from all the states and download factsheets here.
Apparently, some people think that the GOP’s “big beautiful bill” is a foregone conclusion, and that the struggle over the budget and Trump’s agenda is over and done. Not true. On Sunday night, the bill — given the alternate name “Big Bad Bullsh*t Bill” by the Democratic Women’s Caucus — was voted out of the House Budget Committee. The GOP plan is to pass this legislation in the House before Memorial Day. But that’s not the end of it. As Jessica Craven explained in her Chop Wood Carry Water column: “Remember, we have at least six weeks left in this process. The bill has to: Pass the House, Then head to the Senate where it will likely be rewritten almost completely, Then be passed there, Then be brought back to the House for reconciliation, And then, if the House changes that version at all, Go back to the Senate for another vote.” She adds, “Every step of that process is a place for us to kill it.” The bill is over a thousand pages long, and the American people will not get a chance to read it until it has passed the House. But, thanks to 5Calls , we know it includes:
Let's talk about our Eastern Shore Delegation, the representatives who are supposed to fight for our nine Shore counties in Annapolis, and what they actually got up to this session.
For the first time in recent memory, Virginia Democrats have candidates running in all 100 House of Delegates districts — a milestone party leaders and grassroots organizers say reflects rising momentum as President Donald Trump’s second term continues to galvanize opposition.
The 447th legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly adjourned on April 8. This End of Session Report highlights the work Shore Progress has done to fight for working families and bring real results home to the Shore. Over the 90-day session, lawmakers debated 1,901 bills and passed 878 into law. Shore Progress and members supported legislation that delivers for the Eastern Shore, protecting our environment, expanding access to housing and healthcare, strengthening workers’ rights, and more. Shore Progress Supported Legislation By The Numbers: Over 60 pieces of our backed legislation were passed. Another 15 passed in one Chamber but not the other. Legislation details are below, past the budget section. The 2026 Maryland State Budget How We Got Here: Maryland’s budget problems didn’t start overnight. They began under Governor Larry Hogan. Governor Hogan expanded the state budget yearly but blocked the legislature from moving money around or making common-sense changes. Instead of fixing the structural issues, Hogan used federal covid relief funds to hide the cracks and drained our state’s savings from $5.5 billion to $2.3 billion to boost his image before leaving office. How Trump/Musk Made It Worse: Maryland is facing a new fiscal crisis driven by the Trump–Musk administration, whose trade wars, tariff policies, and deep federal cuts have hit us harder than most, costing the state over 30,000 jobs, shuttering offices, and erasing promised investments. A University of Maryland study estimates Trump’s tariffs alone could cost us $2 billion, and those federal cuts have already added $300 million to our budget deficit. Covid aid gave us a short-term boost and even created a fake surplus under Hogan, but that money is gone, while housing, healthcare, and college prices keep rising. The Trump–Musk White House is only making things worse by slashing funding, gutting services, and eliminating research that Marylanders rely on. How The State Budget Fixes These Issues: This year, Maryland faced a $3 billion budget gap, and the General Assembly fixed it with a smart mix of cuts and fair new revenue, while protecting working families, schools, and health care. The 2025 Budget cuts $1.9 billion ($400 million less than last year) without gutting services people rely on. The General Assembly raised $1.2 billion in fair new revenue, mostly from the wealthiest Marylanders. The Budget ended with a $350 million surplus, plus $2.4 billion saved in the Rainy Day Fund (more than 9% of general fund revenue), which came in $7 million above what the Spending Affordability Committee called for. The budget protects funding for our schools, health care, transit, and public workers. The budget delivers real wins: $800 million more annually for transit and infrastructure, plus $500 million for long-term transportation needs. It invests $9.7 billion in public schools and boosts local education aid by $572.5 million, a 7% increase. If current revenue trends hold, no new taxes will be needed next session. Even better, 94% of Marylanders will see a tax cut or no change, while only the wealthiest 5% will finally pay their fair share. The tax system is smarter now. We’re: Taxing IT and data services like Texas and D.C. do; Raising taxes on cannabis and sports betting, not groceries or medicine; and Letting counties adjust income taxes. The budget also restores critical funding: $122 million for teacher planning $15 million for cancer research $11 million for crime victims $7 million for local business zones, and Continued support for public TV, the arts, and BCCC The budget invests in People with disabilities, with $181 million in services Growing private-sector jobs with $139 million in funding, including $27.5 million for quantum tech, $16 million for the Sunny Day Fund, and $10 million for infrastructure loans. Health care is protected for 1.5 million Marylanders, with $15.6 billion for Medicaid and higher provider pay. Public safety is getting a boost too, with $60 million for victim services, $5.5 million for juvenile services, and $5 million for parole and probation staffing. This budget also tackles climate change with $100 million for clean energy and solar projects, and $200 million in potential ratepayer relief. Public workers get a well-deserved raise, with $200 million in salary increases, including a 1% COLA and ~2.5% raises for union workers. The ultra-wealthy will finally chip in to pay for it: People earning over $750,000 will pay more, Millionaires will pay 6.5%, and Capital gains over $350,000 get a 2% surcharge. Deductions are capped for high earners, but working families can still deduct student loans, medical debt, and donations. This budget is bold, fair, and built to last. That’s why Shore Progress proudly supports it. Click on the arrows below for details in each section.
