The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department will start providing drive up testing one day per week at each office starting in Leelanau on Tuesday, September 8, and Benzie on Wednesday, September 9.
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With bars in Traverse City and Bellaire writing lengthy pleas to the public to respect their employees, to refrain from cursing, spitting and worse, it was time to check in with Leelanau County’s wineries and see how they’ve managed the COVID-19 requirements of mask-wearing, distancing, sanitizing surfaces, and more.
As the State-mandated closing of all restaurants eased up over Memorial Day, business owners scrambled to come up with solutions for this topsy turvy summer season, knowing full well that indoor seating would be either eliminated or reduced dramatically in their desire to serve safely. For Skip Telgard, owner of The Blue Bird and The Early Bird in Leland, opened 80 years ago by his grandfather and ever since beloved fixtures in the county, the solution materialized through a phone call from the State Liquor Control Commission.
The Nickeys and other working families are deciding that now is the time to buy their home in Leelanau County, in part because of the Coronavirus and the inconvenience of living in a big city during this trying time of physical distancing. “The pandemic has levied a huge human toll on the world,” said Ian Nickey. “During this time we have realized, as a country, the possibilities of remote work and that we can be just as productive away from the office while also attending to ‘the real business of life’.”
Board members of the Cedar Polka Fest decided during their meeting last night to cancel the annual festival, which had been moved from mid-June to September in hopes that the COVID-19 global pandemic would be under control by then. Instead Coronavirus infections are rising in much of the United States and spreading through parts of Leelanau County.
The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department reported five new COVID-19 cases in Leelanau County today, all of which are symptomatic and two of which are currently hospitalized. That makes 25 new cases over the past two weeks (Thursday, June 25—Thursday, July 9), a period that included the Fourth of July weekend.
When you enter any establishments, please obey the signs posted on the windows to WEAR A MASK. It is required by state law, and it will keep us all safe. Wearing a mask indoors is also a sign of respect for everyone in our community. Please WEAR A MASK! Thanks!
This weekend, Michigan residents will have an opportunity to access drive-thru testing in Leelanau and Benzie Counties. The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department is partnering with LynxDx (a private lab based out of Ann Arbor) to administer COVID-19 testing on Saturday and Sunday, from 11 am to 3 pm. No appointment is necessary.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, The Leelanau School has canceled all Beach Bards Bonfire storytelling and music events and all public stargazing and constellation lessons at the Lanphier Observatory for summer 2020.
Beginning Tuesday, June 23, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will reopen access to the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center in Empire, and all campgrounds and camping. However, the Manitou Island Transit ferry will not run service to the Manitou Islands this year. High water in Lake Michigan has damaged the dock at South Manitou Island, making it unsafe for disembarking passengers until it can be repaired.