The Daily Edition for Monday, March 30, 2020

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Welcome to your daily Impact newsletter!

As a valued member of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, we plan to stay in touch with you every afternoon, through emails like this one and on Facebook and Twitter, until the pandemic passes. We intend to provide you with the latest state and federal information, as well as highlighting the creativity and innovation that is occuring here in Maine during this unpredictable and rapidly changing time. To assist you in navigating the uncertainties ahead, we have created a diverse and comprehensive collection of web-based resources to help you take care of yourself and your family, your employees, your business, and your community. If there is anything you need, please reach out.

We are here to help in any way we can!

 

 

Maine small businesses encouraged to prepare now to access federal emergency loans in CARES Act   $350 billion allocated to keep workers employed during pandemic
On Friday, March 27, 2020, the U.S. Congress passed, and the President of the United States signed, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. As part of the $2.2 trillion stimulus funds included in the CARES Act, $350 billion is allocated to help small businesses. Known as the "Paycheck Protection Program," and co-sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins, small businesses that maintain their payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic will be able to apply for 100% federally guaranteed emergency loans. These loans may be forgiven if borrowers maintain their payrolls during the crisis or restore their payrolls afterward. Loans can be up to 2.5 times the borrower's average monthly payroll costs, not to exceed $10 million.   A list of lenders offering loans under the program is expected to be announced soon, after which businesses and self-employed individuals can begin applying for loans directly with a lender. Until that time, The Maine State Chamber of Commerce with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is sharing details of the CARES Act with business owners and encouraging them to prepare now to apply.
"The rescue funding in the Paycheck Protection Program of the CARES Act is critical to keeping Maine's small businesses operating during this time and keeping Maine's workforce whole," said Maine State Chamber of Commerce President Dana Connors. "We strongly encourage Maine businesses to prepare now to take advantage of these loans. These loans will help them endure the pandemic and help mitigate its impact on Maine's economy."   Businesses and 501(c)(3) organizations with fewer than 500 employees are eligible to apply for the emergency loans. Also eligible are sole proprietors, independent contractors, self-employed individuals who regularly carry on any trade or business, tribal business concerns that meets the SBA size standard, and 501(c)(19) veteran organizations that meet the SBA size standard. For businesses in the accommodation and food services sector (NAICS 72), the 500-employee rule is applied on a per physical location basis. For businesses operating as a franchise or receive financial assistance from an approved Small Business Investment Company, the normal affiliation rules do not apply. The 500-employee threshold includes all employees: full-time, part-time, and any other status.   In evaluating eligibility, the CARES Act directs lenders to consider whether the borrower was in operation before February 15, 2020 and had employees for whom they paid salaries and payroll taxes or paid independent contractors. Lenders will request a good faith certification that the uncertainty of current economic conditions makes the loan request necessary to support ongoing operations, and that the borrower will use the loan proceeds to retain workers and maintain payroll or make mortgage, lease, and utility payments. A personal guarantee is not required for the loan, nor is collateral. A lender will not consider whether the borrower sought and was unable to obtain credit elsewhere.   A borrower is eligible for loan forgiveness equal to the amount the borrower spent during the 8-week period beginning on the date of the origination of the loan on the following items: payroll costs, interest on the mortgage obligation incurred in the ordinary course of business, rent on a leasing agreement, payments on utilities, and for borrowers with tipped employees, additional wages paid to those employees.   A guide and checklist to prepare businesses to apply for a Paycheck Protection Program CARES Act loan can be found on the Maine State Chamber of Commerce's website. Detailed COVID-19 information and resources for employers and employees are regularly updated.

 

 

Connecting with Maine's Congressional Delegation
	This week, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce is meeting with U.S. Senator Susan Collins and U.S. Senator Angus King to discuss the recently-passed $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. We look forward to providing you with more valuable resources and information during this extremely difficult time.

 

 

U.S. Department of Labor updates Q&A on First Coronavirus Response Act

Over the weekend, the U.S. Department of Labor added additional Questions and Answers to its Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Questions and Answers. The updated Q&As address many key questions, including the following: * If my employer closes my worksite on or after April 1, 2020 (the effective date of the FFCRA), but before I go out on leave, can I still get paid sick leave and/or expanded family and medical leave? * When does the small business exemption apply to exclude a small business from the provisions of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act? * Who is a "health care provider" who may be excluded by their employer from paid sick leave and/or expanded family and medical leave? * Who is an emergency responder? * Do I qualify for leave for a COVID-19 related reason even if I have already used some or all of my leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? * If my employer reduces my scheduled work hours, can I use paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for the hours that I am no longer scheduled to work?

 

 

Daily Briefing from the Maine CDC

Dr. Nirav Shah held his daily Maine CDC briefing today, sharing much data and information. He expressed thanks to Maine's health care workers for everything they are doing right now. "As thousands of people are staying home, healthcare workers are doing the exact opposite. They are reaching to the front lines to care for those in need."   This weekend, Maine recorded its second and third COVID-19 related deaths. Currently, the Maine CDC has documented 275 cases of COVID-19 across state, an increase of 22 since yesterday. Of those, 49 have been hospitalized and 41 have recovered and been released. Additionally, approximately 43 of these cases are healthcare workers, and the average age of those testing positive is 55 years old. In past 48 hours, the first case has been documented in Somerset County, and there are now 12 in Penobscot County. These cases may represent community transmission in Penobscot but that is unclear until the investigation is complete.   The Maine CDC is concerned about congregate settings - from nursing homes to shelters or any situation where large number of individuals live closely - and the spread of the virus. They are aware of several congregate setting cases - six in Falmouth, three in Freeport, and some in Leeds. Data shows that COVID-19 spreads very quickly in this type of setting. Therefore, when Maine CDC learns of a case within this type of congregate setting, it first notifies the facility and conducts a field study. The CDC then asks facility to let all members, staff, stakeholders, and family members to be notified. These communities are also asked to restrict or disallow community visitation, to look for symptoms, to focus on sanitation, and to maintain a daily checklist.   Lab testing across state has seen more than 6,000 negative tests. Labs are still dealing with testing backlogs and looking at new equipment. Maine CDC is purchasing a new platform that would allow testing capacity, despite nationwide shortages of specific chemicals. As of this morning, the Maine CDC has enough capacity to perform approximately 2,000 tests. Currently, the backlog for patients most at risk is cleared, as is the backlog for those in healthcare. Italy and China data has shown that health care workers were more at risk.   Increase in the number of cases is concerning, but it is also consistent with increases other states have seen. Testing has increased significantly, and community transmission is beginning to be seen. The recent increase in Penobscot County's cases leads the Maine CDC to wonder if this is because of community spread. At this point, the increase in cases is likely a factor of both community spread and increased testing.   There are 176 total ICU beds in the state, of which 92 are available. There are 253 available ventilators of 309 total. Alternate ventilators were recently approved by the FDA and Maine CDC is currently aware of 87 such ventilators. As Maine CDC continues to track these items, this visibility into the data helps with load balancing across state. Additionally, they have increased the request for additional ventilators from 300 to 400.   Approximately a week ago, Maine received its first distribution of Personal Protective Equipment, and a second shipment arrived a few days ago. It is likely that the third shipment will arrive by this evening, but this third shipment may be the last case of PPE that Maine receives for quite some time. The Maine CDC is pursuing other avenues to procure and produce other PPEs, adding that to its inventory and beginning distribution. Procurement of PPEs is a problem because there is no system nationally to do so, so essentially that leaves states pitted against each other to try and procure PPE. The state is looking into the feasibility of manufacturing capacity in Maine. DECD Commissioner Heather Johnson and her team are helping the CDC to work with companies across the state to try and ramp up PPE production here. The University of Maine System is also involved in these discussions. We are not yet at a place where we can determine our capacity but "the response from the manufacturing community has been extremely positive." Maine has not received the same share of PPEs as other states have. In the meantime, Maine is pursuing additional strategies to procure what we need.   The Maine CDC is using two different types of modeling currently to determine where we will head - Epidemiological models take what we know about disease and how it spreads; and "best fit" modelling which uses data from the outbreak in Wuhan and adapts it for different conditions. The Maine CDC takes different models and do projections based on our healthcare parameters and on lowest and highest projections. Ultimately, the more aggressively we can physically distance now, the better. Conversely, the less we physically-distance now, the more we will have to do so later.

 

 

Federal Update: Trump extends virus guidelines, braces U.S. for big death toll

On Sunday, President Trump extended the voluntary national shutdown through April 30. The initial 15-day period of social distancing urged by the federal government expires today, March 30. President Trump had expressed interest in relaxing the national guidelines at least in parts of the country less afflicted by the pandemic. Many states and local governments have stiffer controls in place on mobility and gatherings. The federal guidelines recommend against large group gatherings and urge older people and anyone with existing health problems to stay home. People are urged to work at home when possible and avoid restaurants, bars, non-essential travel and shopping trips.   Dr. Anthony Fauci said at Sunday's briefing that the U.S. could experience more than 100,000 deaths and millions of infections from the pandemic. Extension of the guidelines recognizes that the struggle will take place over the longer haul and the risk of deaths spiraling into the hundreds of thousands is real. The U.S. had more than 139,000 COVID-19 cases reported by Sunday evening, with more than 2,400 deaths. During the course of Sunday's briefing, reported deaths grew by several dozen and the number of cases by several thousand.

 

 

The Radio Replay from March 30, 2020
Early this morning, Dana Connors spoke with WGAN's Matt Gagnon about the federal CARES Act. The $2.2 trillion federal financial assistance package will bring much-needed resources to employees and employers nationwide during and beyond the COVID-19 crisis.

 

 

Governor Mills Signs Executive Order to Fast Track Free Online Job Training at Maine's Community Colleges

Order allows for greater flexibility to train workers online for critical jobs needed to address the effects of COVID-19   On Monday, March 30, Governor Janet Mills signed an executive order allowing Maine Quality Centers (MQC) to swiftly address the changing demands in Maine's job market due to widespread economic disruption caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Governor Mills' order suspends certain restrictions, on an as-needed basis, on job training funds managed by the Maine Community College System's MQC program. Suspending those restrictions, such as eligibility and employer matching funds, gives the MQC program more flexibility to rapidly provide free online training to people who have been displaced by the recent effects of COVID-19.   Maine Quality Centers is working closely with workforce training professionals at all seven of Maine's community colleges across the state to develop and implement free online training programs. MQC is coordinating its efforts with the Department of Labor and other workforce agencies for the recruitment and screening of participants in the new online programs.

 

 

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