If Memorial Day traditionally starts the summer season on Cape Cod, this year's unofficial kickoff will come with much of the hospitality industry there and throughout the state still shuttered to customers and visitors amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The dining and lodging establishments that make up major pillars of Cape Cod's seasonal economy aren't included in the first phase of the reopening plan Gov. Charlie Baker laid out on Monday, and the earliest they could reopen under that plan is June 8.
With more specifics of Baker's plan now public and the Memorial Day holiday days away, officials on a Cape Cod Reopening Task Force are advising business owners to begin planning now for how they'll reopen, with public health precautions in place, when they are allowed to do so, in order to make the most of the summer season that many of the region's businesses rely on for their profits.
"I am cautiously optimistic that we will have a summer season," Sen. Julian Cyr told reporters Tuesday. "It's going to look different than prior summer seasons and it's going to be delayed. It's going to start later than we traditionally have with Memorial Day weekend."
Cyr, who serves as a spokesman for the local task force, said its members have been highlighting to Baker's reopening advisory board the seasonal nature of the local economy and its reliance on tourism.
The task force is also emphasizing to residents and visitors the importance of adhering to public health guidance around practices like wearing masks, washing hands frequently and maintaining distance from others, including on beaches.
Baker's plan allows beaches to reopen on Monday, May 25. Cyr said communities on the Cape will be reminding beachgoers not to gather in groups of more than 10 and to keep a 12-foot space between different groups' towels or blankets.
The administration's new standards for beaches also prohibit organized ball games and require beachgoers to comply with the state order mandating that masks or other face coverings be worn if a distance of six feet from others cannot be mantained. Masks are not required when swimming.
"We're really going to need the public to comply with and adhere to the public health and safety precautions that are advised," Cyr said. "How quickly we are going to be able to open the rest of our economy here is going to depend on people's compliance and adherence to those guidelines."
The Baker administration's reopening plan does not attach specific dates to transitioning to new phases, when additional activities are allowed to resume. The movement instead hinges on public health data measuring progress in curbing COVID-19. Baker has said each phase will last at least three weeks but could be longer.
In the first phase, which began Monday, restaurants remain limited to takeout and delivery service, hotels can only house essential workers, travelers from out-of-state are asked to quarantine themselves for 14 days after arriving in Massachusetts, and a "safer at home" advisory encourages residents to limit their trips out.
In Phase 2, travelers would still be urged to self-quarantine and business and recreational travel would be discouraged, but lodging could open with new restrictions in place. Restaurants and traditional retail could also reopen, with capacity limits and other restrictions.
Previously, members of the Cape Cod task force have said they're expecting a muted season this year in light of the pandemic and the corresponding public health restrictions.
Wendy Northcross, CEO of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, said Tuesday that they're concerned about the fate of small businesses and restaurants who need their summer income to stay afloat the rest of the year.
A fluke of the calendar this year has Memorial Day landing on its earliest possible date and Labor Day at its latest, Northcross said, adding an extra two weeks of summer that could serve as a "cushion" and blunt the pain of a less fruitful season.
Businesses like restaurants and hotels are modifying their plans, she said, looking at new variables like anticipated capacity limits, added cleaning costs, and an unclear timeline for resuming operations.
"The sooner we have that date certain for restaurants and accommodations to fully accept reservations is going to take a great burden off them," she said.
Northcross said all fields on the Cape -- from its health care system to fishing industry to village shops -- have felt the economic pinch, and some businesses may go under if they didn't have enough capital to make it through a period of mandated closures and restrictions.
Restaurants are expecting their interior capacity to be reduced, she said, and many are looking to expand outdoor seating to make up for that loss.
"We've been working with our communities to try to accelerate that process for them, to make it easier for them to expand to the outside, even temporarily, for a year or two," she said.
She said her organization has asked federal officials for $3 million to create a revolving loan fund for seasonal businesses, similar to a step that was taken after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Cyr said state lawmakers are working to figure out what more can be done to help small businesses, but that financial assistance will most likely need to come from the federal government, given the state's own financial constraints.
"Without federal stimulus aid, we're going to be very limited in our ability to help not only small businesses, but also their employees," he said.
