***UPCOMING WEBINARS***
May 6, 8AM: The Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Dutchess Business Notification Network will host a webinar on the latest guidance for employers from a legal and HR perspective as the state looks towards reopening. Panelists are Ed Kowalski from Ethan Allen Workforce Solutions and David Wise from Mackey Butts and Wise LLP. Thank you to Rose & Kiernan Insurance for sponsoring. Register HERE.
May 7, 2PM: The Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Dutchess Business Notification Network will host New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli for a town hall forum. The Comptroller will present economic information for the regional business community and take questions from attendees. Thank you to Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. and Quality Environmental Solutions & Technologies for sponsoring. You can register HERE.
·The SBA has released a PPP Loan FAQ document. It can be foundHERE. They also released a “Talking Points” document for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program for agricultural businesses. That can be found HERE.
·The SBA also announced they would reopen their EIDL loan application portal, but only for agricultural businesses. Businesses who had applied before the portal closed will be processed on a first-come first-serve basis. Information on the reopening of the portal can be found HERE.
·The State has released a tracking page where you can see how regions are doing in regards to meeting the reopening metrics. Currently no region in the state has met the requirements to reopen. That page can be found HERE.
·New guidelines have been released by the Governor's office that detail the framework for reopening the state. This includes instructions on what each business must include in their reopening plan. The guidelines can be found HERE.
·"With Gov. Cuomo’s guidance yesterday on re-opening, we are working together with our neighbors to plan & coordinate a regional approach to responsibly and deliberately reopen our local economy. Building on the work we’ve accomplished to date, leaders from Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan, Greene, Columbia, and Putnam counties have agreed to meet later this week to work together, share data, ideas, concerns, and best practices while advocating for our small businesses, farmers, families, and region."- Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro, Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan, Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus.
·County Executive Molinaro further stated that he expects Dutchess County to begin the Phase 1 reopening on May 17.
In today’s (Tuesday) press conference, Governor Cuomo announced the CDC's projection model is expecting daily deaths caused by the virus to double because of the relaxation of social distancing in 31 states. He said this is why he will not accelerate the reopening of the state from the parameters laid out yesterday. He reiterated that if a region is reopened, that does not mean the restrictions cannot be reimposed. Governor Cuomo said in areas that saw infections increase, he would "tighten the valve" to ensure the state does not have another flare up.