THE LATEST NEWS:
  • Ross County COVID-19 cases up to 20. Community spread is now confirmed here, but contact tracing guidelines are still being followed by the Ross County Health District. The current tally, as of 10 a.m. this morning, 197 county residents tested, 20 positive, 156 negative, and 21 waiting on test results. Of the 20 positive cases, 13 are males and seven are females.
  • Chillicothe City Council met Monday night and passed a state of emergency declaration for the city. As we've discussed before, this is a procedural move that gives Mayor Luke Feeney the ability to take action to help the city recoup some of the costs of helping the community cope with the pandemic and also gives him some authority to take action to protect the community.
  • "The Road to a Vaccine" is an eight-week special series showing the work being done to find a vaccine to battle COVID-19. Johnson and Johnson is producing the series, which features journalist and author Lisa Ling.
Thanks Raising Canes!
A BIG Chamber thank you to Raising Canes! The Bridge Street location donated 33 Three-Finger Combos to us to deliver to the kitchen workers at Chillicothe Intermediate School and Chillicothe High School/Middle School. These workers are making and preparing for delivery more than 1,200 meals each week that are delivered to students who need them. Chamber CEO Mike Throne delivered the meals this morning. BTW, there was a great Gazette story about how the community helped to provide 1,000 Easter baskets for these students as well.
Preparing now for when the stay-at-home order is lifted means asking a lot of questions
You can see it coming during every press conference the governor or president does. It’s the inevitable question of when normal activities will resume and how we can know it’s time to send people back to their jobs, schools, and do things that we miss doing.

It comes from the right place, one of optimism, and a desire to see things back to “normal” - whatever that might mean in the post-COVID-19 world.
 
But the best answer is the same answer no one wants to hear – we don’t know. And we may not know for a while. That’s the COVID-19 dance, for lack of a better term, and it’s the most frustrating thing about this pandemic. It’s much like what I tell my children most of the time when they ask for something … “We’ll see.”
 
In short, we will return to work when we return to health, and your readiness to return will be crucial to bouncing back. It’s realistic to expect a return to “semi-normal” long before we ever get to normal, or a new normal. A far more significant question than “when” we open up the country, state, county, or city for business again, though, is what will business owners have to do once they are approved to do so. That’s a question that demands your thought and action now.

 
The answer to this question is unique to every business. Churches, restaurants, meeting rooms, and bars are places where people congregate in large numbers, so restrictions will be tougher to manage for those owners. Offices will have different looks to them, and employees should get familiar with temperature scans, meeting through technology, and other measures to keep illnesses down.
 
Consider these questions before we get to the semi-normal:
  • Even though you can re-open, how should you re-open? Should you do a gradual re-open? Can you do it and make enough money to sustain your business? Small gatherings will be the norm as we emerge from the stay-at-home order, and safe practices will be around for a long time.
  • What are your essential business needs? How will you provide for those needs while creating a safe and healthy experience for you and your employees? Can you get the things you may need (PPE, temperature scanners, etc.) to achieve that climate? Is child care an issue for your employees?
  • What do your customers need from you? How will you do everything in your power to create a safe and healthy environment for them? Do you need to limit people in your business? If so, how many can be inside at one time? Can you do business by appointment or call ahead?

These are just a few questions to help you start the thought process behind returning to work in the future. Suzanne Clark, of the U.S. Chamber, has some more specific things to think about in advance of that day, some time down the road when we return to our businesses.

Let us know how we can help, or if you have some ideas that you are implementing, send them our way to help us share best practices.
TOMORROW: Join us and win some prizes!
*NEW* Information for small business owners
FREE WEBINARS :
  • Thursday, April 16 - Paid Leave Programs under the Families First Act (webinar link)
  • Wednesday, May 6 at 9 a.m. or noon - Grow with Google session: Manage Your Business Remotely in Times of Uncertainty (webinar link)

*NEW* RESOURCES
Miss one of these updates? Click here to catch up!
Coronavirus numbers, facts and figures
Links to information:

  • Looking for a job? The state has a job page on its Coronavirus page that helps connect those out of work with jobs.

  • The Ohio Channel YouTube page, where the Governor, Lt. Gov. and director of the Ohio Department of Health give regular updates at 2 p.m. on most days.

  • Governor's Stay at Home Order (Link)

  • The Chillicothe Ross Community Foundation's Coronavirus Fund needs donations, and can potentially help non-profits with some of the costs of helping the community cope with the impact of COVID-19 in the area.

  • The United Way of Ross County is awarding micro-grants to non-profits working to address community needs due to COVID-19's impact.
Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce | Email Mike Throne | chillicotheohio.com