— from Barbara Marrett for San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau —
The San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau resumed its regional advertising campaign when County officials anticipated that we would be moving to Phase 3 within a day or two.
Many were surprised when the County Health officer postponed the original application to Phase 3, and then when the Governor paused all requests for phase changes, including ours, on July 2nd.
This morning, we initiated the suspension of all advertising. All ads should be down by mid-week. We’ve been doing our best to balance a soft opening with community concerns for safety.
To this end, we’ve created a “Stay Safe” page and checklist to partner with our visitors to keep our community safe.
**If you are reading theOrcasonian for free, thank your fellow islanders. If you would like to support theOrcasonian CLICK HERE to set your modestly-priced, voluntary subscription. Otherwise, no worries; we’re happy to share with you.**
The state’s COVID-19 has 2 new cases in SJC. Our local health department website won’t update until Friday.
There was nothing soft about our opening. With no teeth, there were hundreds of people staying in guest lodging throughout the ban, and the people doing so were ones who did not take the essential travel restrictions (and thus masks and distancing) seriously. We have been extremely lucky so far, and hearing local businesses talking about their money concerns, while we also hear debates about street lights and useless sidewalks makes me consider what it is our local government cares about.
A day late, and a dollar short. Considering the Visitor’s Bureau’s role in all of this– this is the least you could do. It would be responsible of you to undo some of the damage that you’ve already done by hosting an ad campaign asking tourists to not come out until after the pandemic has slowed down.
You do know that we’re currently under a non-essential local travel only restriction don’t you? It’s the law.
The numbers of cars I saw pouring in to Eastsound’s Main Street when the Friday afternoon ferry traffic hit town looked like anything but a “soft reopening”. It looked like the floodgates had been opened for the coronavirus to start streaming in from mainland USA. So much for all the care we’ve been taking since March.
https://mynorthwest.com/1987623/enter-to-win-a-san-juan-islands-getaway/
I entered to win a San Juan Islands “getaway” .. . Gee, I hope I win!
For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic Washington state reported over 1000 cases within a span of 24 hours shattering all previous records. Health and safety must come first, before special interests. Those who live in small rural tourist oriented counties with few health resources must understand that the pandemic could and well may devastate our well being. Within the last 10 days the number of cases in SJC increased nearly a third. The latest case reported on Orcas yesterday. Astounding how our local elected officials can stand by encouraging a further opening. Thanks goodness for Gov. Jay Inslee and his efforts to protect our wellbeing. Opening too early has added to a surge of cases in Florida, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, California and Idaho among others. Let us not follow suit.
Vancouver CTV News– Gulf Island Residents Concerned About U.S. Citizens Coming Over
https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1988694&binId=1.1180928&playlistPageNum=1&fbclid=IwAR2GT3fIqCA1Ei6jcfuBcgkEXkWKdKNqwz-ODhZdIkyt3GO0aJm8g7jZxFw