XIARHOS CALLS FOR MORE CAPE BUSINESSES TO REOPEN BEFORE MEMORIAL DAY
Urges state officials to allow the Cape’s summer economy to get back to business to avoid regional economic disaster
May 18, 2020
BARNSTABLE – Steven Xiarhos, Republican candidate for State Representative in the 5th Barnstable District, urged state officials today to allow more Cape Cod businesses to reopen under the state’s economic reopening plan before the upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend.
According to Xiarhos, the state’s “Phase I” reopening of certain businesses announced on Monday, May 18 is insufficient to protect many Cape Cod businesses and workers from economic disaster. He reasoned that because many regional businesses depend on summer tourism and a strong seasonal economy, forcing them to wait to reopen risks losing valuable time and money. This is especially true for many small businesses, shops and restaurants around the Cape.
“A summer without tourism on Cape Cod is more than just a lost day at the beach, it is an economic disaster for thousands of small businesses and workers who are depending on the summer economy to keep their business going and feed their families,” said Xiarhos. “We can’t afford to wait any longer to reopen.”
In making his recommendations, Xiarhos noted the importance reopening safely, which he said is possible due to the recently-announced Cape Cod Reopening Task Force. The Task Force, Xiarhos said, is uniquely capable of ensuring that any reopening on Cape Cod is managed safely and effectively. “I have full confidence in the sophisticated capability of this Task Force to work in combination with local boards of health to manage a safe and effective reopening of our local economy,” he said.
Xiarhos acknowledged that any reopening could include certain reasonable restrictions on how businesses operate to prevent community spread of the disease. However, he said he was hopeful that even with such restrictions, a broader regional reopening “would be enough to allow beaches, restaurants, lodging, salons, and many other small shops and businesses here on Cape Cod to reopen in the short term.”
The full text of comments submitted by Steve Xiarhos today follows below:
Steven G. Xiarhos
67 Saddler Lane
West Barnstable, MA 02668May 18, 2020
Dear Governor Baker and Members of the Reopening Advisory Board:
Thank you for your announcement today that certain businesses in Massachusetts may commence operations under Phase I of the Reopening Advisory Board’s recommendations. I am especially grateful that houses of worship will be allowed to reopen to the public, albeit with restrictions in place.
However, I am fearful that a Phase I reopening is not sufficient to save thousands of jobs and small businesses on Cape Cod from imminent economic disaster. Therefore, I am writing this letter to urge you to move Cape Cod to a more advanced reopening status prior to the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.
Without question, the COVID-19 outbreak has been brutal here in Massachusetts. Together, we grieve for every one of the more than 5,700 people who have died from the disease so far, including nearly a hundred people here on Cape Cod. We pray for each of them and their families. Likewise, our thoughts and prayers are with those who are or have been hospitalized and who continue to recover. In particular, we pray for those in the nursing homes and long-term care facilities who have been hit particularly hard by this vicious disease.
However, at the same time as we focus on the devastating public health aspect of this disease, it is imperative that we not lose sight of the profound economic impact COVID-19 is having on our communities. With so many businesses closed, in addition to the end of the school year, people are suffering and many families are being stressed to the limit. I have seen this hardship first-hand through my volunteer work for the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation, which is on its way to distributing two million meals to thousands of needy veterans (a majority of whom are over 65 years of age) throughout our state.
We have a shared responsibility to help those in need during these challenging economic times. For many, the best solution is to reopen the economy to allow them to resume business operations and make money to support their families. That is true even if reopening comes with some restrictions to their usual way of doing business in order to protect health and safety.
Here on Cape Cod, it is especially important for us to move forward quickly. Our economy, and particularly our small business economy, is heavily-dependent on seasonal labor during the summer months. A summer without tourism on Cape Cod is more than just a lost day at the beach, it is an economic disaster for thousands of small businesses and workers who are depending on the summer economy to keep their business going and feed their families. We can’t afford to wait any longer to reopen.
Fortunately, in our area we have a Cape Cod Reopening Task Force now in place to help monitor and guide local businesses as they resume their operations. This Task Force is a combination of community leaders from the public sector as well as many private sector interests, which allows for the pooling of resources and ideas to make sure that we reopen our local economy safely and successfully. I have full confidence in the sophisticated capability of this Task Force to work in combination with local boards of health to manage a safe and effective reopening of our local economy.
Because of this regional capability and oversight, which I believe to be unique in our state, I believe Cape Cod is capable of managing a stage of reopening beyond Phase I announced today. And, I believe such a reopening is both necessary and appropriate to protect what is left of our local economy and to get people here back to work before the summer economy passes us by.
Therefore, I am writing to urge you to please immediately allow Cape Cod to proceed directly to a broader reopening, and that more businesses be allowed to reopen under expanded guidelines before this upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend. Aside from your guidelines, this reopening would be under the added careful direction and monitoring of the Cape Cod Reopening Task Force and local boards of health to ensure safety and success, and to adjust plans as public health demands. I am hopeful such a reopening would be enough to allow beaches, restaurants, lodging, salons, and many other small shops and businesses here on Cape Cod to reopen in the short term, even if there are certain reasonable restrictions on their operations put in place to prevent further community spread of the disease.
Thank you for your attention to these comments. I continue to have faith that, together, our Commonwealth will overcome this pandemic and we will gradually rebuild the familiar way of life that we all know and love as Bay Staters.
Sincerely,
Steven G. Xiarhos
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