Officials cancel Salem Fair because of COVID-19 outbreak

By The Associated Press
May 12, 2020 | 2:59 AM

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — A Virginia city has canceled its annual fair because of COVID-19.

The Roanoke Times reports officials in the city of Salem announced Monday that it would cancel the Salem Fair due to COVID-19 safety concerns.

The fair was scheduled for July 1-12 at the Taliaferro Complex. It attracts about 300,000 people to the region each year.

Officials said the fair had to be canceled because the city could not guarantee the safety of employees and guests at the large event.

City Manager Jay Taliaferro said the city will work with Deggeller Attractions to bring the fair back in 2021.

Va. health dept. improves nursing home inspection backlog, reforms sanction criteria for facilities

By Virginia Mercury
August 22, 2026 | 8:37 PM

Stories of neglect in care or unsanitary living situations have plagued several of Virginia’s nursing home facilities in recent years and data backs up a lapse in oversight by state agencies. With reform efforts underway, the Virginia Department of Health officials said they aim to adopt sanction criteria by the end of the year to rein in bad actors and get troubled facilities back on track. As of July, 58% of Virginia’s nursing homes were overdue for inspections and 68 of Virginia’s 289 nursing homes were found to have serious deficiencies, according to ProPublica. Several of the state’s flagged facilities with numerous deficiencies also had high staffing turnover rates. The issue has been salient among various healthcare spaces, including VDH.

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