PROVINCETOWN – Small business advocacy group Love Live Local will provide financial relief for Provincetown businesses struggling to make ends meet after the town’s busy summer season was impacted by an outbreak of COVID-19.
The July cluster also caught attention nationwide as several vaccinated individuals tested positive for COVID, even gaining the attention of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for research into the efficacy of vaccines in reducing symptoms.
Case numbers have since declined and the town reported fewer than a dozen total hospitalizations and no deaths associated with the cluster event.
But some local venues saw their business drop by 80 percent in some cases by mid-August as visitors cancelled reservations and day-tripper numbers dried up.
“If you really parse out the data, Provincetown was safe,” said Amanda Converse, CEO of Love Live Local.
“It was safe to go to, and it was safe the whole time, but that messaging unfortunately didn’t get translated. It was the headlines that really caught people.”
Love Live Local’s Cape Cod Resilience Fund will issue one-time grants of between $500 and $2,000 to eligible businesses.
The money will help cover operational expenses such as rent, staff, supplies, marketing and training, said Converse, with preference will be given to year-round businesses located in the downtown area.
“We and the Provincetown Chamber felt like we wanted to step up this effort because there isn’t any more relief on the horizon coming from the federal government. What our aim is to do is to help them pay one or two bills—not nearly what the state or federal government can provide for them, but it’s something,” said Converse.
“It’s also letting people know this isn’t over for our small businesses. They’re still dealing with the impacts of the pandemic that’s still ongoing.”
Both Converse and Executive Director of the Provincetown Chamber of Commerce Radu Luca were hopeful that an expected “second summer” during the Cape’s shoulder-season will help mitigate the loss in revenue.
The Resilience Fund will begin accepting applications from Provincetown businesses in mid-October.
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