BLOOMBERG • July 2, 2020
The novel coronavirus has barely touched the public health of this corner of rural Down East, with Hancock County reporting just 16 cases and one death as of June 30. Its economic health is another matter: The fallout from COVID-19 threatens a historically bad year for the state’s lobster industry. Fear of contagion and the near-total shutdown of restaurants and cruise lines, where most consumers eat the crustaceans, have devastated demand. Infection-prevention protocols at processing plants have cut capacity, and the drop in air traffic has snarled the logistics of shipping live creatures. Hopes for a recovery anytime soon are dim because prices already typically fall in July.