Apple has developed a coronavirus screening tool in partnership with the CDC, the White House, and FEMA. Access it here.

COVID-19 peak projections state by state from Bar and Restaurant Expo

UPDATE: March 26th, 2020

Small Business Provisions of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (S. 3548)
The small business provisions provide funding with the intent of helping to prevent workers from losing their jobs and small businesses from going under due to economic losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Paycheck Protection Program
Authorizes $349 billion for the US Small Business Association (SBA) 7(a) program through December 31, 2020 to extend to small, nonprofit, and Tribal businesses with fewer than 500 employees the ability to seek loans to cover payroll and other expenses.

It seeks to broaden the adoption of the program by clarifying that businesses with more than one physical location that employs no more than 500 employees per physical location in certain industries are eligible if they are below a gross annual receipts threshold. It also waives affiliation rules for businesses in the hospitality and restaurant industries, franchises that are approved on the SBA’s Franchise Directory, and small businesses that receive financing through the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program.

The loan period will be from February 15, 2020 to June 30, 2020 with a maximum interest rate of 4% and maximum loan value of $10 million based on a formula by which the loan amount is tied to payroll costs incurred by the business. Allowable uses of the loan include employee salaries, paid sick or medical leave, insurance premiums, and mortgage, rent, and utility payments.

The section also seeks to streamline SBA review and instructs lenders to eliminate repayment ability from its determination in favor of a qualification test that the small business was operational on February 15, 2020.

Requires eligible borrowers to make a good faith certification that the loan is necessary due to the uncertainty of current economic conditions caused by COVID-19; they will use the funds to retain workers and maintain payroll, lease, and utility payments; and are not receiving duplicative funds for the same uses from another SBA program.

Waives both borrower and lender fees for participation in the Paycheck Protection Program, credit elsewhere test for funds provided under this program as well as collateral and personal guarantee requirements under this program in favor of government guarantee increases to 100 percent through December 31, 2020, at which point guarantee percentages will return to 75 percent for loans exceeding $150,000 and 85 percent for loans equal to or less than $150,000.

Allows complete deferment of 7(a) loan payments for at least six months and not more than a year and requires SBA to disseminate guidance to lenders on this deferment process within 30 days.

Loan Forgiveness 
Establishes that the borrower shall be eligible for loan forgiveness equal to the amount spent by the borrower during an 8-week period after the origination date of the loan on payroll costs, interest payment on any mortgage incurred prior to February 15, 2020, payment of rent on any lease in force prior to February 15, 2020, and payment on any utility for which service began before February 15, 2020. Eligible payroll costs do not include compensation above $100,000 in wages. Forgiveness on a covered loan is equal to the sum of the following payroll costs incurred during the covered 8 week period compared to the previous year or time period, proportionate to maintaining employees and wages: Payroll costs plus any payment of interest on any covered mortgage obligation (which shall not include any prepayment of or payment of principal on a covered mortgage obligation) plus any payment on any covered rent obligation and any covered utility payment. The amount forgiven will be reduced proportionally by any reduction in employees retained compared to the prior year.

Entrepreneurial Assistance
The bill provides $265 million for grants to offer counseling, training, and related assistance to small businesses affected by COVID-19 to SBA resource partners, including Small Business Development Centers and Women’s Business Centers and $10 million for the Minority Business Development Agency’s Minority Business Centers and Minority Chambers of Commerce.

Emergency EIDL Grants
The bill expands eligibility for entities suffering economic harm due to COVID-19 to access SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), while also giving SBA more flexibility to process and disperse small dollar loans. The bill allows businesses that apply for an EIDL expedited access to capital through an Emergency Grant—an advance of $10,000 within three days to maintain payroll, provide paid sick leave, and to service other debt obligations. $10 billion is provided to support the expanded EIDL program.

Small Business Debt Relief
Requires SBA to pay all principal, interest and fees on all new and existing SBA loan products including 7(a), Community Advantage, 504, and Microloan programs for 6 months, and provides $17 billion for this purpose.
The COVID-19 crisis is rightfully dominating the news cycle. The steps being taken by governments, local and federal, to combat this virus are unprecedented and have never been witnessed in any of our lifetimes.

The leadership at AAMA and AMOA want you, our members, to know we are in ongoing communication with our Washington-based lobbyist, Dentons compiling the latest information on programs the federal government will put in place to assist small businesses like yours. We have compiled a list of resources, stories, and programs in the following tabs.

We strongly urge you to make sure the information you’re consuming related to COVID-19 comes from reliable sources, which should include the Center for Disease Control, (CDC). Click here to find the latest information directly from the CDC on this outbreak, and the steps you can take to help limit the extent and duration of this pandemic.

As more information related to federal aid programs becomes available, we’ll be making it available to all our members. If you have any questions, please email info@coin-op.org.