FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine (AP) — The closing of the Canadian border because of the pandemic is giving Maine golfers the run of a golf club that straddles the border.
The Aroostook Valley Country Club’s parking lot and pro shop are in Maine but the 18-hole course and clubhouse are in the province of New Brunswick.
Maine golfers can park and hit the links. But the border crossing that gives access to Canadian golfers is closed. In an odd twist of fate, the Canadian staff is allowed on the grounds.
“I feel extremely bad for our Canadian members,” Larry Gardner, a board member, told the Bangor Daily News. “They’re our friends.”
Sen. Susan Collins, who hails from Aroostook County, has been notified of the situation and Gardner hopes she can intervene.
Aroostook County has had eight cases of the coronavirus with one death, while the entire Canadian province of New Brunswick has had 132 cases with no deaths, officials say.
In other news related to the virus:
STAYING LOCAL
State officials said Tuesday they're launching a new campaign to encourage residents to continue the behaviors they said have helped keep Maine's virus count fairly low. The “Keep It Maine” campaign will use social media, digital advertising and television advertising to encourage residents to keep social distancing, using masks and prioritizing personal hygiene, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.
Maine ranks 42nd in the nation in terms of positive cases of the virus when adjusted for population size, the department said.
——
FIVE MORE DEATHS
There have been more than 2,300 cases of the virus in Maine, where there had also been 94 deaths through Tuesday. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported five more deaths on Tuesday.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
—-
INDOOR MASS
Maine Catholics will be allowed to hold public masses indoors again, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland has said.
Bishop Robert Deeley told WGAN-AM on Monday that no more than 50 people will be in attendance at any mass. Public masses were suspended in the state in mid-March due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
Deeley also said some pews at Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland will be roped off. He said there will be no social gatherings at the church, and seats and pews will be sanitized. Parishioners will also be required to wear masks during the mass.
—-
OUTDOOR DINING
Some restaurants in southern Maine are pivoting to outdoor dining due to new state rules. Restaurants in Cumberland, York and Androscoggin counties had been set to reopen for indoor dining on June 1, but the state postponed that change while allowing outdoor service.
Indoor dining is allowed in the rest of the state.