Things are starting to wake up across the country and on our little Island. Restaurants are opening up again, for takeout food only for the time being, golf courses are allowed to open, and construction crews can now have five workers on site, still practicing social distancing and wearing masks. And people are out and about a lot more this past week as well. Without question, we have a lot of visitors on our little Island presently. The number of positive COVID-19 tests at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital have inched up to 26, which is pretty good. It would seem that, so far, we’ve been pretty successful flattening that curve. Who knows what will happen as more businesses open and more people arrive for summer.
As the state experiences a decrease in COVID-19 numbers, Governor Baker has instituted a four-phase plan for reopening things in Massachusetts, starting on May 18. It will start with allowing limited businesses with little face-to-face contact to open, then move on to Phase 2, which is cautious and allows a few more businesses to open with restrictions and capacity limitations. Phase 3 is labeled vigilant and allows more business openings with guidance, and finally Phase 4 is the New Normal. All of this depends on the numbers, so there isn’t a timeline set. Everything will come with more restrictions. I know our money-making summer season is upon us and that many rely on a successful summer to get by, but please try to look at the restrictions for what they are, which is hopefully a way to keep people safe. No one is trying to make things harder than they need to be but while we open up, it’s important to follow the guidelines and suggestions, as that will be what gets us out of this for the long haul rather than for a quick flash that leads to a rebound and puts too many people at risk.
Happy birthday wishes go out this week to Cookie Perry, Jo-Ann Taylor, and Julia Levesque who celebrated on May 10, Nedine Cunningham and Charlotte McCarron on May 12, and Pia Gundersen on May 16.
You can take an online restorative yoga class Thursday, May 14, May 21, and May 28 through the Edgartown library. Certified teacher Jelisa Difo leads a weekly class in Restorative Yoga, a practice that allows you to slow down, restore and relax your body through passive stretching. No experience or flexibility required. Send an email to them at info@edgartownlibrary.org and they will send along the link to the class.
This has been a big week for the colleges around here, with many high school seniors declaring where they will be attending next year and many college seniors graduating this week, albeit virtually. Congratulations to Dunovan Belisle, Olivia Lingren, and Sara Poggi all graduated or are graduating from their respective colleges recently. Smantha Hargy is set to graduate virtually on May 15 from George Washington University. Sam has always been an amazing person and has continued to make her mark with a double major in International Affairs and Latin American and Hemispheric Studies, as well as a minor in Spanish. During this time she also traveled abroad a number of times to help save the world with a little hands-on action. Way to go, Sam. And congratulations to all the graduates. I’m sorry that you missed out on traditional ceremonies but the virtual ceremonies will certainly be memorable.
It was inevitable, I suppose, but to see it in writing is sad. Edgartown has canceled the 4th of July parade and fireworks for this year, rounding out the big event cancellations for the summer. Wow. I just can’t even imagine our Island without all these big events this summer. Will we still be inundated with visitors who don’t want to travel far but want to do something so “travel local”? Will the numbers be way down this year? We all have to wait and see, which is so hard. I’m guessing you will see an awful lot of people here, but maybe not the crazy numbers we’ve become accustomed to. It’s quite the conundrum, needing the tourists in order to remain financially solvent and worried about the health and safety of everyone if we do get a huge influx of visitors.
I will sign off here. Please, as we start to re-open here and come into closer contact with each other, please try to remember that wearing masks and practicing social distancing isn’t a punishment or the government taking away freedoms. They are the best ways we have right now to protect each other. Every time I put my mask on, I am doing it to make sure that the people I come into contact with are safe from me and any germs I might have. If everyone just recognizes it as necessary right now to protect each other and part of the clothing requirements to go into businesses just like shirts and shoes, hopefully we will all get through these days. Are they comfortable? No. Is it easy to forget them at home? Yes. Does it add another thing to our to do list? Yes. But soon it will become a habit. And I personally thank you for wearing a mask and protecting our elderly, and those who suffer from auto-immune disorders, and those with asthma, and those with other underlying conditions or weakened immune systems. Look at it like this is your chance to be a superhero, except instead of wearing spandex and a cape, you wear a mask and stay 6 feet away from everyone else.
If you have any Edgartown Town Column suggestions, email Gail Gardner, ggardnermv@gmail.com.