Swain Lee '22 - Associate Editor
The Nextdoor app is normally used for neighbors to get in contact with each other for any neighborhood news or questions. However, as quarantine has started and continued, the feed on Nextdoor has become much different. A constant stream of posts arguing with part time Sussex County residents that have moved into town during quarantine have overrun the Nextdoor app. This string of posts shows an accurate representation of the tension between year-round locals and out-of-towners looking to flee their city homes during quarantine. This tension between locals and out-of-towners is certainly nuanced, with no group clearly in the right.
Exploring the out-of-towners’ perspective, many call Rehoboth, Lewes, or Dewey their second home, and for permanent residents to be berating them for staying here would be quite rude. The question of safety is also important, and is a large gray area in this issue. While it is not very safe for part time residents to be fleeing to Sussex County, it could be argued that they deserve to seek out safety from higher risk areas like Washington DC, New York, and Philadelphia. As long as they are self-quarantining for the mandated amount of time, these part time residents are really just trying to keep themselves safe.
Moving to the side of the locals, the question of safety is equally, if not more pressing. Part time residents moving down to Sussex County during quarantine create a much higher risk for locals as people could be bringing the virus with them from their city homes. It would be much safer for Sussex County as a whole if part time residents would stay where they are instead of coming here. With limited space for patients in hospitals, adding on cases of part time residents with coronavirus could bring them to their limit. Sussex County resident and Cape student Hunter Jones, has a lot to say about how part time residents coming to Sussex County could harm our area. “If they were in a high risk area before, they shouldn’t be allowed to come here. It’s putting the full time residents in danger and prolonging the quarantine,” Jones says. It’s quite clear that out-of-towners can pose a serious threat to local residents here in Sussex County.
Overall both sides of this argument hold very reasonable points. Whether you are on the side of part time residents seeking a lower risk area in Sussex County or locals looking to prevent those part time residents from possibly spreading here, everyone should remain respectful in this debate. No matter who is correct in this tension, it is most important currently to practice safety and civility, no matter where you fall on this issue.
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