Dear Sir,

The following edited letter was sent originally to Richard Quinn, the manager of Cambridge Beaches.

I worked in Bermuda for many years back in the early 1990s through 2000s. I worked with a local Bermudian there on several resorts and hotels, banks and as a consultant for architectural component preservation and restoration.

My wife and I have spent several vacations in years from 2017 to 2019 at Cambridge Beaches. Knowing the island as well as we do, and the resorts, has me concerned with the policies from the Government.

We have stayed everywhere and have been coming to Bermuda since 1990 consistently each year with a few lapses. In addition to Cambridge Beaches, we have stayed at Marriott Castle Harbour, Elbow Beach, Southampton Princess, the Rosedon, Hamilton Princess, Sonesta Beach, Waterloo, several guesthouses, Palmetto — I may have missed one or two. The point is, we love Bermuda. We love the Bermudian people and the island, and everything it is. I can’t begin the list of restaurants and bars we have eaten at these many years. Many are now gone.

I am writing this letter from experience over many years and visiting many resorts. I receive The Royal Gazette online newspaper. I keep up with the goings-on in Bermuda. I feel I am authority as a tourist.

I saw the interview with Phil Hospod. I am glad someone has taken on this mantle and has dedicated to a vision. My heart weeps when I see how things are being handled in Bermuda. It seems that only one aspect has the control, and there is no other vision to keep people safe yet still allow for commerce. Because of the measures taken, we cannot come to Bermuda. It is much easier to just go somewhere else for a couple of weeks.

Last year we went to South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California instead of vacationing in Bermuda. This year we are planning to go west again instead of Bermuda. Who can afford to vacation in Bermuda under the restrictions and measures? Does not the Government understand that vacation is a term that is used to leave one’s worries, day-to-day problems and stresses behind? The protocol measures cannot be worse than the disease. Yet, here we are.

Please include this letter and my reasons as an authority in Bermuda and Bermuda vacations over many years and many places in Bermuda to help to persuade the Government to change its policies. I am sending a copy of this letter to The Royal Gazette. Maybe someone there can help jump-start Bermuda and those that are constantly overreacting to a manageable health crisis.

It seems there is only one solution right now: quarantine. When ever have the non-infected been quarantined in history? Livelihoods are at stake and if you think that the measures being taken are sound, what is the answer to those that have lost jobs and businesses?

Which date is it that things go back to normal? We have picked this past Friday (May 14, 2021) here in Maryland. On the Thursday, we were still closed with masks, but at the strike of midnight, masks came off magically and people could now congregate in public. Really?

I am wondering when Bermuda’s magical date will be?

JAMES DONAGHY

Baltimore, Maryland