Beatrix, a 3 year old Rescued Dog was Visiting With Her Owners from the Boston Area.

“We are state hopping.  I’m from West Virginia but have been down to Texas to pick up a face mask my sister made for me.  Now I’m here in Portland,” said a smiling customer today at a popular store on Exchange Street in the Old Port of Portland.

When the state hopper made her purchases and left, the store owner who is a senior citizen and vulnerable to the coronavirus, grimaced and took a deep breath – wondering aloud if she had been quarantined or tested for the COVID-19 before  arriving here in Maine.  There is no  way of knowing for sure.

Texas has seen a resurgence in the number of COVID-19 cases prompting it’s Republican Governor Abbott to shut down its controversial and ambitious reopening plan.  The Governor failed to abide by guidelines on reopenings that would have reduced the number of COVID-19 infections according to medical experts. Maine’s Governor Janet Mills has delayed the reopening of indoor bars because there is evidence that the numbers of infections rise expoentially after attendance at bars.  Today on CNN news, Linda Vail a Health Officer from Michigan, said that the reopening of indoor bars is a “perfect storm. Bars are a high risk factor,” she said.  Arizona, California, Florida and Texas, southern states, have reported 25,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases as the nation approaches the long Fourth of July weekend according to the AP.

Other business owners on Exchange Street expressed the same concern as the senior owner of the store referred to above. The crowded street, despite the cloudy and down right cold weather, was filled with out-of-staters. Tourists came from Kansas, Delaware, and Pennsylvania – all states where proof of wellness before entering Maine is required.  But who’s checking?

“The worst thing I’ve seen here is the Wharf Street mess.  I could not believe the commotion there.  People were shoulder to shoulder there with no face protections,” said Bob Aumoney from New Jersey.  He and his wife have been staying at the nearby Hyatt.  They were tested and found negative at a local small pharmacy before coming to Portland.   “We could hear the commotion from our hotel,” Bob said.  “The bars at Wharf Street are a nightmare,” he said.  “We took all precautions in New Jersey before we came and thought it would be more restrictive than it is here,”  Please visit post herein dated June 28, 2020 – “Scary Times in the Old Port – Three Bars on Wharf Street.Blamed.”

“We are seeing a lot less acute cases,” said Dr. Amanda Einstein, visiting Portland with her husband Gerald and dog Beatrix.  Dr. Einstein is a doctor at a major Boston hospital.  “Donald Trump could have been a better role model,” she said. Her husband who co-owns a research company said that there has been a drastic reduction in the number of cornovarius cases in Massachusetts, formerly a hot spot for the virus.  There has been a 83% reduction in Massachusetts he said.

“We came here to support Portland because we know there are a lot of small businesses that depend on everyday people and everyday people depend on them.  We feel at home here, Gerald said.  The couple said they, and Beatrix, have visited Portland many times previously and will continue to do so in the future as they enjoyed a beer at an outdoor pub on Exchange Street this afternoon.  (Pls. see Beatrix in above left photo.  She was drinking only water – nothing stronger).

A report from the MaineCDC indicates a large increase in the number of confirmed cases of  COVID-19 during the last eleven (11) days of June. In fact, the numbers show a large spike in numbers of confirmed cases of the virus – attributable to out-of-staters visiting Maine.  This spike is in conflict with Trumpy’s prediction that the warm weather would eliminate the pandemic caused by the COVID-19.

If you are from Texas or Florida, please don’t visit Maine this year!  Maine is not a hot spot and we don’t want to be one!