BARNSTABLE – Steven Xiarhos, who is running in the race for state representative in the fifth Barnstable district, is urging state officials 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 announced Phase 1 reopening of certain businesses is insufficient to protect many Cape Cod businesses and workers from economic disaster.
He said 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.
“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.
He said that the task force 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,” said Xiarhos.
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.”
Xiarhos is facing former Sandwich selectman Tom Keyes in the republican race for the district in the September primary.
Randy Hunt, the current state representative for the fifth Barnstable district, has announced that he is not running for re-election.
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