Keep your virus off our island!

On Matinicus, 20 miles off Maine’s mainland

From Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com

The reaction of residents of  islands off the New England coast, from big ones, such as Nantucket, to tiny Matinicus, off Maine, to the pandemic has, in a way, been paradoxical. These folks (more than a few of whom tend to be recluses) sometimes feel safer because they are separated by water from the worst COVID case densities, on the mainland, while fearful that a few cases will make their way onto their islands and explode.

There have been some ugly scenes, such as locals stretching chains across driveways of summer people “From Away’’ trying to shelter in place from COVID there and nasty notes.

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Of course,  New England’s islands are a big lure in the summer. I wonder how the vaccination surge will affect how many tourists and vacation-home residents  visit them this summer as they play travel catch-up.