LENOX â A botched, delayed rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination program by the federal government â possibly a temporary setback â and continued resistance by a significant minority of Americans send up warning flares for our hospitality-tourism-arts economy in 2021.
The three-month shutdown of the high-end Canyon Ranch Lenox resort announced this past week, with an undisclosed number of employee furloughs, is discouraging, yet not surprising. The stateâs travel order bars visitors (unless theyâre from Hawaii) from overnight stays unless they can produce a negative test result from the three days before their arrival. Lacking that, they must quarantine for 10 days.
What is startling is a note from Eagle reporter Francesca Paris this past week that about 40 percent of Berkshire Healthcare Systems employees at their nursing care facilities have expressed unwillingness to take the vaccine, at least for now.