The Mayor and City Council of Cumberland will be sponsoring a two-day drive-through COVID test event for employees of Cumberland businesses. All employees working at businesses within Cumberland are eligible for the test, which will be administered by PharmaCare staff, at no cost to themselves or to their employer. The drive-through testing event will be conducted on Tuesday, December 8 and Wednesday, December 9 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Constitution Park. Employers located within the City of Cumberland will need to preregister their participating employees no later than 12 noon on Monday, December 7 using this link: https://forms.gle/52FoU4kZ9QD5GpHH7….

Following the latest measures to address the surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations announced by Governor Larry Hogan, UPMC Western Maryland President Barry Ronan joined WCBC’s “Dave Norman Show” to discuss the local situation…

Maryland’s lieutenant governor says the state could get a small amount of a coronavirus vaccine as soon as mid-December. Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford made the announcement Wednesday at the start of a Board of Public Works meeting. Rutherford says health care workers will get the vaccine first. After that, workers in nursing homes and assisted living facilities will be a priority. The Republican emphasized that not everyone will be able to get the vaccine at first…

Sparked by a few callers with concerns about the lack of decorations on the downtown holiday tree, more than $700 was raised Wednesday morning on WCBC’s “Dave Norman Show."  The subject came up when the “Morning Mayor” issued a light-hearted challenge to Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss…   Moments later calls from businesses, elected officials and citizens began to come in with contributions…  

One of Donald Trump’s staunchest allies has become the latest Republican to acknowledge that former Vice President Joe Biden won last month’s election and will be sworn in as the next President on January 20th. West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, who campaigned with Trump, and until yesterday had been refusing to declare Biden as President-elect, suggested Wednesday that all evidence is pointing in that direction…

One of the many efforts that came to a halt with the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic were plans to relocate the Union Rescue Mission. Those talks had gotten underway in earnest late in 2019- just months before COVID-19 hit the area.  On the plus side, the 57-year-old shelter houses up to 62 people daily and serves 200 meals a day. The mission also offers a free medical clinic, and holds religious services in a chapel on the premises. However, many citizens have expressed growing concerns with the large number panhandlers and  vagabonds who hang around near the facility at its Queen City Drive location…

West Virginians will soon be able to get tested for COVID-19 in their own homes. The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources plans to begin offering free in-home COVID-19 testing kits from Vault Health Inc. "within a couple of weeks,"  according to  DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch.  Residents will be able call or go online and request a test kit be mailed to them. Although encouraged with the testing news and the fact that vaccines are just a few weeks from being made available in the state, Governor Jim Justice began his briefing with some alarming COVID numbers which have about…

The Allegany County Health Department reports that Allegany County’s cumulative total number of COVID-19 cases is now at 3,161, with 357 new cases added since Monday.  The county’s death toll from the disease now stands at 75.   Currently, Allegany County’s case rate is 156.82 per 100,000 population, while the state average is 37.03 per 100,000.  Allegany County’s current positivity rate is 16.05%, while the statewide average is 7.52%.    In addition to following public health directives to wear a face covering, practice social distancing, practice good hand hygiene, and frequently clean and sanitize high-touch surfaces, contact tracing is one…

Maryland’s lieutenant governor says the state could get a small amount of a coronavirus vaccine as soon as mid-December. Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford made the announcement Wednesday at the start of a Board of Public Works meeting. Rutherford says health care workers will get the vaccine first. After that, workers in nursing homes and assisted living facilities will be a priority. The Republican emphasized that not everyone will be able to get the vaccine at first. However, he says when the general public can get vaccinated, people should. He says a vaccine might not be available to the general public…

Maryland’s COVID-19 positivity rate continued its rapid climb on Wednesday, as the state reported more than 2,200 new cases and 42 deaths.  The number of hospitalizations fell by five, bringing the state’s total to 1,578. Of those, 1,219 were in acute care and 359 were in intensive care.  The state’s calculation of the positivity rate is now 7.52%, up from 7.33% on Tuesday. As of Wednesday, the state has confirmed 203,355 coronavirus cases and 4,558 deaths.