Recovery Resources: New loans, cheap PPE and county resources on opening safely

The Main Line Chamber of Commerce is distributing Personal Protective Equipment kits as part its role as a member of the Chester County Recovery Task Force. The $10 kits include 100 masks, 100 pairs of gloves and a half gallon of hand sanitizer and will be available for pickup on June 16 from 9-5 at the Chamber offices in Wayne. Although any business or nonprofit member of the chamber with fewer than 100 employees is eligible, preference is given to Chester County businesses for this set of kits. Register here to receive your kit, which will be available while supplies last.

PA releases details on eligibility for $225 million in new small business grants
The Administration of Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday issued additional guidance regarding $225 million in grants and listed the organizations that will be in charge of administering applications. The grants are available to small businesses that were affected by closure orders imposed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The grants may be used for operating expenses that businesses incurred while they were shut down and incur as they transition to reopening; and for technical assistance, including training and guidance to help business owners stabilize and relaunch their firms.

The PA 30-Day Fund seeks companies eligible for forgivable loans
The PA 30 Day Fund created by a group of philanthropists and private donations is making $3,000 in loans available to companies that have 3 to 30 employees. They must also have been in business for at least a year and be owned by a Pennsylvania resident. While the loans may be repaid, they also can be converted to grants.

Gov. Wolf announces metrics used to judge progress towards green
Gov. Wolf has announced the new metrics that the state will use in assessing whether counties are ready to move from the yellow to green phase of reopening. They include a county’s contact tracing and testing capabilities and whether it maintains a sustained reduction in COVID-19 hospitalizations and infection rates after being moved to yellow. If the overall risk of coronavirus spread within a county remains mitigated for 14 days after the county is moved to yellow, the state will move it to green. How counties are doing can be seen on the state’s dashboard.

Businesses now should have an easier time getting loans received under the Paycheck Protection Program converted into grants thanks to a law signed last week. The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act gives businesses 24 weeks, up from eight, to spend any PPP money they receive; lowers the amount of PPP money they must use on payroll to 60 percent from 75 percent; allows businesses to get their PPP loans converted to grants even if they don’t bring back all the workers they had before the pandemic; gives businesses until Dec. 31 to apply for loan forgiveness; and gives businesses five years, up from two years, to repay loans that aren’t converted. Businesses have until June 30 to apply for PPP funds. Nearly $130 billion remains available under the program, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Delaware, Chester and Montgomery Counties each offer resources on reopenings
Delaware County, Chester County and Montgomery County are each providing regular updates and advice for businesses as they reopen. Each site contains information specific to each county, links to state resources and more. Chester County recently recorded a webinar with a Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security analyst attempting to help gauge the risk of virus transition based on type of business.

Businesses conducting in-person operations or serving the public are required to make employees and customers aware of the guidance provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Health to keep people at their establishment safe. In addition, businesses are required to publicly acknowledge their responsibility to conduct their operations to ensure the health and safety of employees. Businesses must print, sign, and post the “COVID-19 Safety Procedures for Businesses” flyer on their premises. Businesses must post the signed flyer in employee common space and, if the business serves the public, the business must also post the flyer near the business’s public entrance(s) in prominent location(s).

Chamber offers COVID-19 Recovery Resources webpage
The Main Line Chamber of Commerce has created a COVID-19 Recovery Resources webpage that contains links to resources available from the local, state and federal governments; the chamber and chamber members. The webpage also has links to health resources and organizations seeking volunteers and/or donations.

Barber shops and hair salons have not reopened in southeastern Pennsylvania even though the area has been moved from red to yellow by the state. Still, those with shaggy locks should resist the temptation to go to a green area to get a trim and whatever else they need to have done to their hair, according to this Inquirer article. That’s because people in yellow counties have a higher chance of being infected than people in green counties, so by going to a green county, they increase the infection risk for its residents. “If you yourself are at higher risk, then why would you go to a place where people are at a lower risk? That’s just common courtesy,” said Theresa Sweet, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Drexel School of Public Health.