Cape Cod’s year-round residents, alarmed by an influx of out-of-state license plates amid the coronavirus outbreak, petitioning for the shutdown of the Bourne and Sagamore bridges — to keep out vacation homeowners and avoid overwhelming their small hospitals.
A Change.org petition to close the bridges, which had nearly 5,000 signatures by Monday afternoon, states: “Stop the spread of covid-19 close the bridges. only year round residence, medical personnel. Trucks that deliver essential supplies. While we love our tourists and summer residents this is not the time to come to the cape, out hospital can’t handle it. We only have 2 small hospitals here on cape, and limited medical staff.
keep the residences and elderly safe on cape.”
“We feel like sitting ducks, and nobody has our back,” said Chatham resident Nancy Patterson, who’s over 65. “This is an emergency, and we should only be allowing in essential vehicles. It’s just getting scary out here.”
And it isn’t just the Cape that’s worried about the potential for incoming coronavirus cases.
In the Berkshires, state Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli, D-Lee, said he called Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito asking that the Baker administration shut down on the short-term rental industry, including companies like Airbnb, as people in western Massachusetts worry about travelers coming in from nearby New York.
“For someone to promote a Berkshire COVID-19 getaway with free toilet paper is making light of a dangerous situation,” said Pignatelli, saying he saw such an ad that has since been removed. “We’re not prepared to have an influx of people during a pandemic, not only from a public health standpoint, but from a public safety standpoint. We’re not equipped to deal with this and we haven’t even reached the peak.”
When asked if Baker is considering implementing such restrictions during a press conference Monday, he said, “We will have more to say about that shortly.” His office declined to provide more detail on when to expect an announcement or what measures Baker is considering.
Airbnb spokeswoman Kelley Gossett cited efforts the company has made to combat the virus, such as hosts who have opened their homes for free to medical workers and others who need safe places to stay and self-isolate near hospitals.
When asked about the proposals to cut off the Cape, Baker’s office referred to his Friday advisory that all travelers entering the state self-quarantine for 14 days.
More strict policies like Rhode Island’s efforts to obtain out-of-staters’ contact information “sends a similar message,” Baker told reporters, adding that, “we’re not going to take any options off the table.”
Officials from Cape Cod Healthcare and the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce recently wrote an open letter to Cape Cod second homeowners, telling them to self-quarantine for 14 days if they come to the Cape during the coronavirus crisis.
Officials in the Berkshires are urging visitors to stay away during the outbreak, noting the lack of space at their hospitals ahead of an expected surge in two weeks. Pignatelli made a distinction when it comes to second homeowners, but Great Barrington Selectman Stephen Bannon noted that any out-of-state people who do go to the Berkshires should arrive with enough supplies to quarantine for two weeks.
“Our first choice is that people don’t come here because we simply don’t have the medical capacity,” Great Barrington Selectman Ed Abrahams said, noting there are only 25 beds at the local Fairview Hospital, which is “working frantically” to expand to 50.
Executive Director Jenn Nacht of the Lenox Chamber of Commerce said the group is “not comfortable at this time with visitors coming to the Berkshires for refuge,” also excluding people who own second homes there.
People should remain isolated until the end of April, Nacht said, and “not put a burden on other communities that will already become stretched taking care of residents.”
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March 31, 2020 at 06:50AM
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Cape Codders petition: ‘Close the bridges’ - Boston Herald
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