A look back at August 2020
August 3 — Staff at Sherkston Shores resort in Port Colborne were praised for their work rescuing a young woman struggling in the water at Elco Beach. “She was alive, probably because of the efforts of the security people and staff at Sherkston,” said fire Chief Tom Cartwright.
In Niagara Falls, meanwhile, the Rotary Club found a way to stage a Covid-friendly drivethru ribfest to raise money for charity.
August 5— In Niagara Falls, a man was arrested for scraping the physical-distancing markers off the floor at a Shoppers Drug Mart store. He called it a reaction to the “psychology of fear” he said had grown around the pandemic. A charge of mischief was later dropped.
August 6 — Niagara was reporting 64 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic, and 877 positive cases in that time.
August 7— Headline: “Public health is ready when vaccine is.
August 11 — In a warning he would repeat many more times in coming months, acting medical officer of health Dr. Mustafa Hirji warned social gatherings were a prime driver of the growing COVID-19 caseload.
August 14 — Police were looking for a high-speed, fingerflipping motorcyclist after he repeatedly sped past an officer on radar patrol, flipping him the bird each time.
The long arm of the law eventually caught up with the ribald rider.
August 17 — A crew of Crush the Curves ambassadors in neon shirts fanned out over Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls, part of the city’s continuing effort to keep visitors safe during the busy tourism season.
August 18— Brock University research scientists warned that rushing approval of COVID-19 vaccinations could have “terrible” consequences. If early ones proved unreliable, they feared, it could erode public trust in later, more effective ones that follow.
August 24 — Niagara Democrats Abroad urged Americans living in Canada to vote in the November presidential election. “We have a stark choice between four more years of just destruction if (Donald) Trump is re-elected and a return to stability …” one member said.
August 26 — Headline: “Parents weigh sending children back to school or not.”
August 28 — Headline: “Active COVID-19 cases in Niagara at lowest since March.”