West Tisbury selectmen are considering the possibility of reopening construction to small work crews on either April 22 or April 28.
As of now, town administrator Jen Rand said the construction ban is set to expire on April 21, and the West Tisbury board of health is discussing implementation dates for regulations for a multi-phased approach to getting construction going again.
An Islandwide working group met with various town administrators and boards of health to construct a detailed plan of how to approach an imminent return to work.
Martha’s Vineyard Hospital CEO Denise Schepici recently sent town administrators an email stating that it would be a “dire mistake” to return construction crews to work so early and immediately after the anticipated surge of COVID-19 cases, which is now expected to occur sometime around April 20. Based on that email, Chilmark delayed action on the ban until Thursday, and both Tisbury and Oak Bluffs agreed to wait and hear more from the hospital.
“The CEO of MVH felt strongly that lifting any of the restrictions at this moment would be premature based on the delay of the Massachusetts surge, and said the bell curve is supposed to peak on April 20, so putting people back to work the next day seems ill advised,” Rand said.
According to Rand, there is not a consensus among Island boards of health and boards of selectmen regarding when to begin implementing the phase one of the guidelines.
Rand asked selectmen to vote to support the West Tisbury board of health in whatever its determined date for reopening would be.
She noted that the preferred implementation date for “some, if not all” of the Island boards of health is proposed for April 28, although some selectmen are pushing for an April 22 date.
“I do believe that, whatever vote is taken, if all six towns do not vote the 28th and some vote the 22nd, the other towns will have to revote to allow the 22nd because we cannot have a town-by-town date — it wouldn’t be fair and we really need to stand together in this,” Rand said. “The board of health is working hard on this and I think it would be good for the selectmen to stand behind them.”
Selectman Cynthia Mitchell said she is in “total agreement” with Schepici, stating that in her view, the timing of reopening construction could end in additional harm to the community.
“The plan that the working group came up with is a really good one, it’s just the timing of it that’s in question. But it’s obviously not our decision to make, it’s the board of health’s decision,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell said she hopes whatever date the boards of health decide on for a reopening, it is “as far into the future as possible.”
“We don’t yet know what will happen with this pandemic,” Mitchell said. “I would hate to see us jump the gun and relax rules too early, only to be in a situation where it has caused harm and would have to be pulled back.”
Mitchell said she would not support an April 22 opening, but did applaud the efforts of the working group.
“They have come up with an excellent plan,” Mitchell said.
The board took no action to support the board of health working group, and decided to continue the discussion next week.
Is anyone familiar with the boy who cried wolf? No cases for 8 days in a row but suddenly on this arbitrary date the flood gates open. Say we get a couple between now and then. That should still prohibit 1 and 2 person crews. The most vulnerable tend not to do construction or landscape. Okay, “sky is falling crowd,” let me have it.
The problem is not the workers who live here but rather the day workers who come here on the boat each day. How can we in good conscience discriminate against them if we start work again?
I’m not going to pretend to have an answer to this complicated situation. It’s a mess, and I’m scared for everyone who is out of work.
But consider that most people have been staying home and social distancing, and that the low numbers can be attributed to those efforts. This is the issue with proactive measures — when they actually work, some assume the initial issue they were meant to treat was fake.
Aquinnah– your comment is spot on. if you look at what climate deniers say about the “alarmist” and mention the children’s story about about chicken Little, you can clearly see that they are oblivious to the facts that ;
!) there never was much talk about global cooling
2) acid rain was a real problem, we did something, and it improved
3) the ozone hole was a real problem, we did something, and it improved
4) levels of water pollution were so bad, the Cuyohoga river regularly caught fire
it was a real problem, we did something, and it improved
5) lead levels in the blood of children was high enough to affect the development of their brains. It was a real problem, we did something, and it improved
6) We had warnings for years from multiple health agencies around the world about potential pandemics–including this one, we did nothing, and we sit in lock down while our fellow citizens die.
Don, all excellent examples. Lockdown has provided us with the unintentional benefit of being able to see the environmental impact of our usual daily habits, which I hope will leave an impression on those who doubted. It’s both beautiful and heartbreaking to see clear skies where there was only smog.
arthur- I see that you remember 2 childhood stories here.
30 thousand new cases and 2,500 deaths in the U.S yesterday. U.S deaths at 30 thousand total.
Over 2 million cases world wide– 130 thousand deaths. 8 thousand yesterday alone..
The rate is still going up. Where’s Andrew when we need him to tell us it’s all a bunch of liberal lies ?
Most of the world is on a lockdown, economies around the world are collapsing , food shortages are showing up around the world, civil unrest is on the rise, and donald j ttrump is the president of the United States. Just 50 days ago, on the day our great leader said it was all a hoax directed at him ( of course , it’s always about “him””),and it would all miraculously go away, the“sky is falling crowd,” was quite concerned about this, and they were mocked as such.
But back to the stories you reference.
You mention the chicken little story ;
“In some darker versions of Chicken Little, the birds whip themselves up into such a frenzy they abandon all common sense and follow Foxy Loxy. As might be expected, the wily fox lures the unsuspecting fowl to his den and eats them for dinner.”
Interesting that the “fox” has created hysteria and doubt about reality.
In the second story, If you remember remember correctly , one day the wolf really was there..
I’m just curious as to what would have to happen for you to think that the sky was actually “falling” ?
Arthur, you remeber the one about the man who, rather than wait in the long line for the elevator, jumped off the roof of the Empire State Building – and lived? Yep, he lived! He lived falling past the 102nd floor, the 101st floor, the 100th floor, the 99th floor…It wasn’t the sky that was falling, though.
22nd it is! Define small crews.
One or two people. There are still “solo” self-employed people here. One person, alone on a jobsite, who brings their lunch and doesn’t go out, is no more a hazard than if they stayed at home. and maybe less of a hazard than if they went grocery shopping. You could make a good “safety” argument for a two person crew. Having a second person around for heavy lifting or in case the other needs helps can make sense.
The construction ban was a reckless and harmful decision from day one and the term is misleading. It’s carpenters, plumbers, electricians, HVAC installers, landscapers, painters, house cleaners etc. What that amounts to is hundreds of additional people going in and out of the grocery stores, liquor stores, and pharmacies every day. If you’re going to catch anything those are the three most likely locations. Let’s work to reduce that number. Worker or workers on an isolated jobsite, practicing common sense safety measures, is infinitely safer for the island as a whole. Workers coming over on the boat is a totally separate issue. And should be handled separately. We shouldn’t be punishing people that work on the island who also chose to live here. Domestic violence is on the rise. Sexual abuse is on the rise. Child abuse is on the rise. The stay-at-home rally cry is certainly a benefit to some, but to others it’s a nightmare with no end in sight. Let’s try to inject some common sense and compassion into the next round of decisions.
Why don’t we ban tobacco that kills 515,000 every year in the USA? Let’s ban driving, another 38,000 die every year. Alcohol, just 60,000 a year die each year. Covid—zero deaths on MVY. Of course be careful, but don’t starve people trying to be over preventative. Smart workplace habits.
Funny that tobacco deaths are okay bur Covid-19 deaths are horrible. They should report deaths of all causes nightly so we can keep this in perspective. Just have people wear masks if we must.
I’m hoping you realize there is a huge difference between Covid-19 and each of your examples. Drinking and smoking are an individual choice — not a robust infectious virus. (And smoking in public spaces was banned in order to reduce the tobacco-related deaths of non-smokers.) When hospital workers and first responders care for victims of driving accidents their lives are not threatened by doing so. It might be worth your while to gain some deeper understanding of how this virus spreads — just don’t look to Dr. Phil to provide sound analysis.
I’ve been out of work for 3 weeks now during my busiest time of the year. I miss the money I would have made, but I’m alive and healthy. Lets not go backwards by rushing things. The work will be there when this is over.
Spindriftmv, i’m not sure i understand your comment. i get most of it, except for the abuse part. are you saying that construction workers are abusive or that abusers will abuse less if they get out of the house? acratching my head
oceanna, I’m not sure how anyone could make that connection based on where I placed it in my post, but no, I’m not saying or implying either one of those things. In fact, if I did have to make a judgment call on that, I would say just the opposite is true. But, the fact is, domestic violence is on the rise, sexual abuse is on the rise, child abuse is on the rise. And the rally cry of stay-at-home is fine for some, but a nightmare for others with no end in sight.
spindriftmv, i actually regretted my post after i sent it. i didn’t get your connection at first and am blaming it on not having my morning cup of coffee before i made comment! coming from an abusive situation, one would think i would understand how being cooped up in the household, unable to work, not getting paid is going to stress and anger an abusive person even more. i do remember the relief i felt when my ex would leave for work in the morning. so i get it. IOW, nevermind.
The transmission rate of COVID-19 in open outdoor areas is minuscule to nonexistent. I think any levelheaded person will admit that it’s time to rethink this carelessly implemented “construction” ban. I am a landscaper and do most of my work alone. What’s the problem there? There never should have been an issue with 1-2 person operations continuing to function safely. I am all for social-distancing, but acting as though keeping people from working will prevent the spread of this disease is ridiculous. Look at how many cars are on the road. People are still going to the store, working on home improvement projects (which require going to hardware stores, nurseries, etc.), going for walks, visiting friends. This is where transmission occurs! I have worked on plenty of construction sites and sure don’t see guys too eager to breathe near each other’s faces. Yes, let’s be cautious, but not hysterical!
Nobody wants to get sick or spread the virus, they just want to get back to work. Let’s get them there. We’re not seeing cases emerging from grocery store visits, or anywhere else. And with the hundreds of folks visiting the Stop & Shop, wouldn’t you think we would? (Way more dangerous than a job site!) If only we could get the those super vigilant citizens to volunteer to inspect job sites, they’d see these tradespeople are willing to do whatever they need to to get their jobs done!
Listen to the experts. Expand the construction ban till April 28th.!
Kind of humorous the town with the most cases on island is ready to get at it. 🙂
“The town with the most cases on island” meaning West Tisbury with a whopping 5 cases? I don’t see the humor in that. I hope you’re aware by now that these official numbers are a joke. Of course there have been more than 12 cases on island. That said, we can infer from the lack of hospitalizations that our infection rate is far below other counties in the state. Time to get back to work with the same care and caution folks have been exercising with their “essential” activities.
hello, 7500 people in US die on average everyday, 2.8 mil per year
time for the old and weak to stay home and let the rest of us run the show!!