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Cardin Comments on Evictions Moratorium

The moratorium on evictions in Maryland will end on August 15th as planned. U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, says the situation should never have reached this point. Cardin said some $47 billion in federal funds have been made available to help renters and landlords during the COVID pandemic, but to date only a small percentage of those dollars have been distributed by state and local governments…

18 New COVID Cases, One Additional Death in Allegany County

The Allegany County Health Department will offer another walk-in COVID vaccination clinic on Wednesday, August 11 on the ground floor of the Willowbrook Office Complex (12501 Willowbrook Road, Cumberland, MD).  From 9 a.m. to noon both the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccines will be offered for those age 18 and older.  Then, from 1 to 4 p.m. the Pfizer COVID vaccine will be available for those age 12 and older.  Anyone under 18 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian in order to be vaccinated.   As of August 3, 40.7% of all…

Top-Ranked ACM Nursing Program to Host Site Visit from Accreditation Commission

 Allegany College of Maryland’s nursing program will host a site visit by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing on Sept. 8. The public may share comments beginning at 2 p.m. in Room 208 of the Allied Health Building. ACM was named the top-ranked accredited online LPN to RN program in the nation for 2021 according to RegisteredNursing.org.  The program also was awarded this special ranking in 2019. The company did not provide a 2020 ranking of online LPN to RN programs.     

Maryland-Based Novavax Signs Purchase Agreement with European Commission for 200 Million+ Vaccine Doses

Biotechnology company Novavax, based in Gaithersburg, announced Wednesday it has finalized an advanced purchase agreement with the European Commission for up to 200 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine. The agreement covers the purchase of up to 100 million doses of the vaccine with the option of another 100 million doses through 2023, the company said. Novavax did not disclose the sum of the purchase. Novavax reported 90.4% overall efficacy in its Phase 3 clinical trial in the United States and Mexico. In its Phase 3 trials in the United Kingdom, the company reported 89.7% efficacy with 96% efficacy against the…

Suspected Shark Attack in Ocean City

WBRE reports that 12-year-old Jordan Prushinski was victim of a suspected shark attack while vacationing with her family at the 119th Street beach in Ocean City, Maryland. But she never thought it would be the place where she would get attacked by a suspected shark while swimming in knee-deep water.  “I didn’t really realize what was going on until I was on the beach and I was bleeding everywhere,” stated Prushinski. “I was swimming and a wave had just crashed and I was right on the edge of the crash zone, I thought a horseshoe crab had got lifted up…

Gas Leak Reported in Westernport

What's being described as a major gas leak occured near Shawnee Road at approximately 5:40 a.m. Wednesday.  Area residences have been evacuated. WCBC News will continue to follow this developing story.

BOE Votes 3-2 Against Mask Mandate

The Allegany County Board of Education Tuesday approved a back to school plan that strongly recommends, but does not require masking. By a 3-2 vote, following nearly two hours of discussion, the board approved a plan for in-person, weekday instruction for the school year which begins August 25th. The board meeting began with a presentation from Allegany County Health Officer Janelle Mayer and deputy director Jennifer Corder. Given the county’s low vaccination rates for the general population as well as for students- both strongly advised that students and teachers wear a face covering to start the school year- with the goal…

County to Receive $280K in Grant Funding for Addiction Programs

Governor Larry Hogan announced this week that grants in the amount of $6 million would be spread through various counties in Maryland to help fight the increasing heroin and opioid addiction in the state, along with supporting the Maryland Criminal Intelligence Network and heroin coordinators. Allegany County will receive more than $280,000. Hogan said that the funding will support a statewide effort to address the heroin and opioid public health crisis in an integrated investigative manner, and to stop criminal organizations from bringing illegal guns and drugs into communities. The governor says the fight against opioids must be a total team…

FSU President Discusses COVID Protocol Update with WCBC

As per the directive from the University System of Maryland- Frostburg State University will require students, faculty and staff who will be on campus in the fall to be vaccinated against COVID-19. With students arriving on campus as early as next week, FSU President Dr Ron Nowacyzk joined WCBC’s “Dave Norman Show” to provide a COVID/Campus protocol update. He said that exemptions will be granted for medical or religious reasons…

UPMC Western MD Official Says Hospital Prepared for Delta Spike

Maryland's COVID-19 numbers are rising as the delta variant becomes a greater concern. The State Health Department reports total COVID related hospitalizations in Maryland is nearing 300, the highest in two months. The seven-day positivity rate is at 3.23%, the highest in nearly three months. The health department reported, as of last week Maryland detected 266 delta variant cases. As for vaccines, the state health department reports close to 78% of adults have received at least one dose, nearly 3.6-million people are fully vaccinated. The vaccination numbers for Allegany County continue to lag significantly behind the state numbers. Despite those trends,…