June 8, 2020
Dear Friends ,
Welcome to today’s edition of our special COVID-19 newsletter. As our state’s key public health indicators continue to trend favorably, our retail, lodging and restaurant sectors are resuming or expand business operations as Cape Ann begins Phase 2 of Reopening Massachusetts. Today’s issue includes the latest, sector-specific information from the state’s Reopening Massachusetts webpage , as well as local news and updates from Cape Ann communities and businesses.

Please save the date and plan to join us this Thursday, June 11 at 10 a.m. for our weekly Business Check-In and Information Sharing session. To register for this week’s Zoom session, please click here . Please register in advance
We wish everyone a great week

Sincerely,

Your Chamber Team
Please remember, we are here to support our community with information about reopening Massachusetts and Cape Ann, and business and community resources. Please call (978) 283-1601 or email us as follows:

        

News & Business Resources:

  • Boston – June 6. Governor Baker Authorizes Phase II Start for June 8. On Saturday, Governor Charlie Baker announced that “Step One” of Phase II begins today. As of today many more sectors are able to reopen or expand their operations, including the following:

  • Retail, with occupancy limits; 


  • Restaurants, outdoor table service only;

  • Hotels and other lodgings, no events, functions or meetings


  • Phase II Guidelines for Restaurants: For a pdf summary of mandatory safety protocols and recommended best practices please click here. Download the checklist for restaurants here.

  • Phase II Guidelines for Retailers: For a pdf summary of mandatory safety protocols and recommended best practices please click here. Download the checklist for retail businesses here.

  • Phase II Guidelines for Lodging: For a pdf summary of mandatory safety protocols and recommended best practices please click here. Download the checklist for operators of lodging facilities here.

  • Reopening Massachusetts General Business Guidance. The following information is designed to help businesses meet the self-certification requirement to reopen. All businesses must meet these requirements before reopening.


  • Compliance attestation poster – Poster that customer facing businesses are required to print, sign, and post in an area within the business premises that is visible to workers and visitors

  • Employer and Worker posters – Posters that businesses can print and display within the business premises to describe the rules for maintaining social distancing, hygiene protocols, and cleaning and disinfecting


  • Find all this information and more on the new Reopening Massachusetts website, including detailed sector-specific reopening guidance, timelines and links to additional resources.

  • Reopening Massachusetts – Mandatory Workplace Safety Standards. The Department of Public Health (DPH) and the COVID-19 Command Center developed new Mandatory Workplace Safety Standards in consultation with the Reopening Advisory Board. 

  • Washington, D.C. – June 5. President Signs Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act. The bill signed into law by the President this past Friday makes significant modifications to PPP, including extending the timeframe from 8 to 24 weeks for loan forgiveness and reducing from 75% to 60% the amount that a business must spend on payroll in order to qualify for loan forgiveness. Read the full account in Forbes here.

  • Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Continues. For further information about PPP and EIDL loans and other SBA loan and debt relief programs please click here.
COVID-19 Dashboard for June 7 : The most recent Dashboard of Public Health Indicators continues to trend in a positive and encouraging direction and is available here . The positive test rate has remained at 5% or below since June 2 (7 day weighted average), and the total number of hospitalized patients has fallen to 1,501 (as of June 6)
Chamber Updates & Resources:
  • Reopening Cape Ann. Please send your business information and updates to Olivia Perez-O’Dess (olivia@capeannchamber.com) and Karen Carone (karen@capeannchamber.com). We especially need updates from Cape Ann's Lodging, Retail, and Restaurant sectors.


  • Job Postings Welcome. We encourage Chamber members to use us as a resource to post job openings as NeedyMeds and Yankee Clipper Inn have done recently. All CACC members have an online account where they can post a job listing. View current job listings here. For assistance in posting job openings for your business, please contact Olivia Perez-O’Dess at olivia@capeannchamber.com.

  • Resources for Cape Ann Businesses. The Chamber team is working diligently to assist our members and the community as we navigate these uncertain times together. We encourage you to review the Chamber’s compendium of Business Resources and Recommended Actions here and we invite you to contact us if you have any questions or need assistance.  
  • Say Thank-You and Congratulations with the Gift of Cape Ann. Cape Ann Gift Certificates are a great way to say congratulations to graduating high school and college seniors, thank-you to their teachers and all health care workers and first responders, and support over 200 local businesses. To learn more please visit here. To purchase Cape Ann Gift Certificates, please email Karen Carone at karen@capeannchamber.com.
Member & Community Updates:

New Listings:

  • Town of Rockport Provides Reopening Guide for Local Businesses. Rockport’s Reopening Advisory Group has prepared a compendium of state and local resources to assist Rockport businesses through the phased reopening of the local economy. This guide is being shared with Rockport businesses through Basecamp and is also posted here.

Ongoing: For member and community updates please click here

Education & Training Resources:

New Listings / Upcoming Events:

  • SCORE Webinar on PPP Loan Forgiveness. This webinar, on Wednesday, June 10, from 11am to noon, will provide small businesses a simple 10 step approach to complete the lengthy forgiveness application. For more information and to register, please click here.

  • The New PPP Flexibility Act Explained. Paul Carelis, PHR, SHRM-CP and VP of HR & Client Services at MassPay, hosts a webinar this Thursday, June 11 at 1pm followed by a live Q&A. For more information and to register, please click here.

Ongoing: For listings of education and training resources please click here

Community Services & Resources:

Ongoing: For listings of community services and resources please click here
Members Helping Members & the Community:

New Listings:

  • Action Inc. has new short-term rental and mortgage assistance available for renters and homeowners who have recently lost their jobs, been furloughed, or lost significant income due to COVID-19. They have the following new COVID-related assistance available:

  • Rental and mortgage assistance for Gloucester residents up to 80% Area Median Income

  • Rental assistance for Ipswich residents up to 80% Area Median Income

  • Rental and mortgage assistance for Manchester residents up to 100% Area Median Income


  • Castle Manor Inn Grand Opening. On Wednesday, June 10 Castle Manor Inn reopens with an exciting new dinner menu adding more of Gloucester’s favorites! Lobsters and fried clams. Please call for reservations (978) 515-7386.

  • My Place By The Sea Reopens Today. Recently featured on The Phantom Gourmet, this award-winning Rockport restaurant at the top of Bearskin Neck reopens today for lunch and dinner on their outdoor decks and patio. Please call 978-546-9667 for reservations.

  • Happy Whale toys and games, and the Glass House in Rockport are open Today Monday June 8. They are offering in store shopping by appointment from 10am to noon every day. You and your family would be in the shop with just one staff member. Call or text (978) 491 7754 or email info@shophappywhale.com. Regular business hours are from noon to 6pm daily.

  • Schooner Adventure Salutes the Watch on Deck. The “watch on deck”, as pictured in the video linked here, is the front line on a schooner in a storm at sea with gusts howling in the rigging and sails reefed to their minimum. They are the crew with wind and spray lashing their oilskins and braving the seas threatening to carry them overboard. They endure this battle with the elements to safeguard their shipmates and a hold full of fish, both precious cargo. Adventure’s crew would like to recognize and pay tribute to front line health care workers, the “watch on deck” around the country who work around the clock to care for the sick and protect the rest of us. Join or Renew and Give an Adventure Membership to a Front Line Worker; the “Watch On Deck”. Schooner Adventure invites us to join them in giving thanks to those who are devoting such extraordinary effort to our local communities. For each new membership or membership renewal that they receive before June 30, they will give a free membership to an employee of the Beth Israel Lahey Health Hospitals in Beverly or Gloucester. Please visit here to join.

  • Vote For Your Favorite Local Businesses in the BONS Best Home Awards.Voting is open through August 1 here. Many of our members, including Cazeault Solar have been nominated in several categories.
Ongoing: For additional listings of members helping members and the community please click here .

As we learn of more creative ways that our members and our communities are adapting and responding, we will share them through all our Chamber communications channels.
Information Resources:

For the most current information about the federal, state and local response to COVID-19 – including information of particular relevance to employers and employees – we recommend visiting the following websites: 

  • Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM). For AIM’s June 5 COVID-19 blog about Phase II reopening Massachusetts, please click here.

  • COVID-19 Command Center Update: Read MEMA’s June 4 Command Center report here.


  • Commonwealth of Massachusetts. For the latest COVID-19 news and information for Massachusetts, including public health advisories, business resources and government services, please visit here.

  • Department of Public Health: Stay at Home Advisory. For details click here.







For information and updates specific to one’s local community, we recommend visiting the following city and town websites for Cape Ann:





Our goal as always is to serve as a trusted resource in providing our business community and residents with helpful information and guidance during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The members of your team here at the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce are here for you, as we all pull together to meet and overcome the challenges of COVID-19.
We at the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce would like to extend a big thank you to our supporting sponsors.

If you are interested in promoting with the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce and sponsoring this newsletter, please contact Vince Mainetti at vince@capeannchamber.com