Dutchess Business Notification Network Update for Thursday, April 23, 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.

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Update for Thursday, April 23, 2020:

• The Paycheck Protection Program is expected to receive new funding today once the House of Representatives votes to approve it. This follows the Senate passing their version of the bill on Tuesday. The new bill includes $300 billion to replenish the PPP fund, $75 billion for hospitals, $60 billion for Economic Injury Disaster Loans, and $25 billion towards the implementation of a testing program for each state. If you wish to read the bill in its entirety, click HERE.
• In today's (Thursday) press conference, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced there would be an investigation into all nursing homes in the state to verify they are following Department of Health guidelines. The investigation will be led by the state Department of Health and Attorney General Letitia James.
• Governor Cuomo also announced that the preliminary data on antibody testing from a random sampling show 13.9% of those surveyed had antibodies across the entire state. In areas outside of NYC, Long Island, and Westchester/Rockland, the number was 3.6% had the antibodies.
• Governor Cuomo also reiterated that the state would be opened up in a regional approach, both within the state itself and with the surrounding states.
• In regards to unemployment, Governor Cuomo stated that the majority of those who have not yet been approved for UI benefits are those that fall under the new unemployment program for gig-workers and self-employed individuals. He expects that backlog to be processed more quickly because of the streamlined application process that was rolled out on Monday, and all checks would include back-pay to the date the individual became unemployed.
• NYS Department of Financial Services will direct health insurers to immediately pay outstanding hospital claims and to work with neediest hospitals to provide additional financial assistance. More information can be found HERE.
• Tomorrow is #FarmStandFriday, so if you are craving farm-fresh foods produced right here in the heart of the Hudson Valley, remember to support one of Dutchess County’s family-run farms. You can find a list of farms offering curbside pick-up and home delivery HERE.
• Dutchess Tourism has put together a video to highlight the resiliency of our community, and to promote the new #WeWillFlyAgain campaign. You can view their video and find useful resources 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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