Dutchess Business Notification Network Update for Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Below are updates and resources for businesses, employers, and employees. Please feel free to forward this email to anyone you believe would benefit from this information.

IMPORTANT: Urgent Need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Sanitizing Supplies

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Update for Tuesday, April 14, 2020:

• Tomorrow, 8-9AM the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce will host a Virtual Contact Breakfast with Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro. You can use one of three options: 1) Zoom: HERE.  2) Dial and listen: (845) 765-7121. 3) Facebook Live: HERE. Thank you to Greystone Programs and KeyBank for sponsoring this event.
• The governor announced in a new Executive Order that any business that still has essential employees that comes into contact with customers, must provide those employees with face masks. This must be enforced by local government and law enforcement, and goes into effect tomorrow at 8PM. The full order can be found HERE.
• At 3 PM Thursday, be sure to honk your horn twice to support all those in the MTA and public transit systems who are working everyday to make sure essential workers are still able to get to work. This is part of the #HeroesMovingHeroes campaign to show our appreciation to an often overlooked but vital part of our state, regional, and local economy.
• In his press conference today (Tuesday) Governor Cuomo said he did not want to fight with the President in regards to the regional task force that was announced by six states yesterday (Massachusetts joined the task force today). However, Governor Cuomo also said he did not believe President Trump has the Constitutional authority because of the 10th Amendment to override his decision to shut down the state, and that he would make that case in court if needed.
• A $400,000 grant competition has been launched for small businesses who can produce N95 masks or ventilators. Applications are due Friday at 4PM. For more information, or to apply for the grant, click HERE.
• The SBA will host a number of webinars that will explain the five different programs the SBA has to help businesses and non-profits through COVID-19. To see the dates of the webinars and register, click HERE.
• On April 16th, celebrate National High Five Day and give a "Dutchess Air Five". Dutchess Tourism is encouraging all of Dutchess County to show appreciation for our local service industry, with support in the following ways: Purchase gift cards (online or over-the-phone) for later use; Shop online stores or participate in virtual experiences; Share 5-star love with favorite businesses by posting stellar reviews on Trip Advisor, Yelp, Google and on their own sites. Businesses: Promote the initiative on your social platforms using the provided graphic in the link. Help make this initiative go viral locally. For more information, click HERE.

If you have any questions regarding the information in this notification or any other business related concerns and suggestions, please email Contact@DutchessBNN.com. Please do NOT contact elected officials regarding information in this email as they are currently inundated with handling the government response to this crisis. This network was created to help coordinate responses and share the burden, and we ask that you please contact us with any questions or concerns so our elected officials can focus on their task at hand. Thank you for your continued support through this time.

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