Ocracoke Control Group recommends opening before Memorial Day; no date yet

From our news sources

The Ocracoke Control Group is recommending reopening the island to visitors before Memorial Day and will coordinate with Dare and Currituck counties and the governor’s office to include regional and state concerns due to the COVID-19 crisis according to a press release issued Saturday afternoon. 

The release did not say when a date would be approved by the Hyde County Board of Commissioners for lifting the visitor restrictions

According to the press release, the Control Group on Friday discussed the difficulty of weighing public health concerns on the one hand and the threat to the future of Ocracoke’s business community on the other.  Ocracoke is in the uniquely challenging position of still addressing a three-month shutdown due to Hurricane Dorian last September as well as the added shutdown due to the COVID-19 crisis.

“Any lifting of visitor restrictions on Ocracoke must be coupled with clear guidelines as to personal protective measures that will be in place for all types of businesses and gatherings, including but not limited to social distancing, face masks, and sanitation,” the release said.

The group also agreed that individual community members and their families must continue to practice a level of protective measures that they feel is necessary for them.

The Hyde County Health Department will continue to provide education regarding safety measures.

Due to the restrictions prohibiting gatherings of 10 or more people, public attendance at the 6 p.m. May 4, Hyde County Board of Commissioners meeting is not possible.

The meeting will be available to watch via Facebook Live or listen to via a phone dial in for those without reliable internet access. Video of the meeting will be posted to the Hyde County website, http://www.hydecountync.gov, the next day. 

The county is accepting public comments for the meeting via a web submission at https://forms.gle/qWzxU8EXfaQDahWp6, by sending an email to lstotesberry@hydecountync.gov, or by leaving a voicemail at 252-926-5288. Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. Monday. The comment will be played or read aloud during the normal public comment session in the meeting.

Public comments are a time for the public to make comments to the County Commissioners. Comments should be kept to three minutes or less and comments should be directed to the entire board and not to individual members, the staff, or to other members of the public.

This month’s agenda is on the county website here http://hydecountync.gov/board_of_commissioners/agendas.php.

The Facebook Live will start at 6 p.m. on the Hyde County Public Information Facebook page. You do not need to be a Facebook member to view public pages here https://www.facebook.com/HydeCountyNC.

To use the dial in option, call 605-562-0400 or 717-275-8940. Enter the following access code 882 1001, and press #. These are not toll-free numbers.

“We’d like to thank everyone for continuing doing their part during this pandemic,” Hyde County said in a press release. “We know it’s hard. Please continue to practice social distancing by maintaining six feet of distance between yourself and others; wash your hands as directed by the CDC. Wear masks in public where social distancing is difficult, and whenever possible stay home.”