May 18, 2020
Dear Friends ,
As a new work week begins we note more encouraging developments, even as all of us strive together to meet the challenges of the coronavirus and overcome them. Today’s edition of our special COVID-19 newsletter includes the Report of the Reopening Advisory Board , as well as local news and webinars. And please save the date and plan to join us again this Thursday, May 21, for our weekly Business Check-In and Information Sharing session. To register for this Zoom meeting please click here . 

Sincerely,

Your Chamber Team
As always, we are here to support you with information about disaster loans, unemployment assistance and business and community resources. Please call 978 283-1601 or email us as follows:

        

News & Business Resources:

  • Boston –Governor Baker Announces Start of Four-Phase Process for Reopening Massachusetts Economy. At his daily news briefing this morning, the Governor presented the Report of the Reopening Advisory Board. The report includes detailed sector-specific guidance on measures that will need to be implemented by employers to ensure the health and safety of employees and customers. The state has also launched a new website (www.mass.gov/reopening) with detailed reopening guidance, timelines and links to additional resources.

  • State Replaces “Stay-at-Home” Advisory with “Safer-at- Home” Advisory. Read the details of the “Safer-at-Home” advisory issued today by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health here.

  • Boston –Community Tracing Collaborative Update. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, along with Partners In Health, has created the COVID-19 Community Tracing Collaborative (CTC). The program focuses on reaching out to the close contacts of confirmed positive COVID-19 patients to help others who have been potentially exposed to the virus. Calls will use the prefix 833 and 857 and your phone will say the call is from “MA COVID Team.” Calls will be made daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. When the MA COVID Team calls, you can do your part by answering the phone and providing helpful information that will help flatten and reduce the curve in Massachusetts. To learn more about the Community Tracing Collaborative please click here. If you are interested in becoming a Contact Tracer for the CTC please click 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.

  • Massachusetts Unemployment Assistance. For comprehensive information on the Commonwealth’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) programs please click here. For DUA customer service please call 877-626-6800.

  • The Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is now accepting and processing Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) applications from those who are self-employed, independent contractors or part of the gig economy. For further information and to apply click here.

  • Daily and Cumulative Data on Massachusetts COVID-19 cases and testing, and weekly data on confirmed cases by city/town and residents subject to COVID-19 quarantine is now available here.
Chamber Updates & Resources:
  • Irish Sweepstakes Drawing This Thursday. We are going to hold the Irish Sweepstakes drawing this Thursday, May 21, starting at 7 pm, as a Facebook Premier event. We have 3 tickets left to be sold – don’t miss your opportunity for $10,000, and 11 other chances to win cash prizes!” Contact Ken at [email protected] for your lucky ticket.


  • 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.  
Member & Community Updates:

Ongoing: For member and community updates please click here

Education & Training Resources:

New Listings / Upcoming Events:

  • Associated Industries of Massachusetts Offers Free Webinar. The association plans a free webinar on Tuesday, May 19 at noon entitled Return to the Workplace – Here’s What We Know. The briefing will feature Michael Kennealy, Secretary of Housing and Economic Development, and Thomas Wesley, Senior Director of Facilities, Environmental Health & Safety and Real Estate at Waters Corporation and chair of the AIM Task Force on Re-Opening. For more information and to register, click here.

  • MassPay Offers Free Webinar. On Thursday, May 21 at 1 pm, MassPay will present a webinar entitled “Navigating PPP Loan Forgiveness: What You Need to Know.” The session will be 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:

  • Job Postings Welcome. We encourage Chamber members to use us as a resource to post job openings as Senior Care has done. Link All CACC members have an online account where they can post a job listing. View current job listings here. To learn how to post job openings for your business, please contact Olivia Perez-O’Dess at [email protected].

New Listings / Upcoming Events:

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

New Listings:

  • Town Green 2025 Announces Webinar Series. The first in this series of four webinars by noted experts on topics relating to climate change will be held on Thursday, May 21, at 3pm. The hour-long program will feature Ken Kimmell, President of the Union of Concerned Scientists, who will speak on the theme of “Lessons from the COVID Crisis for the Climate Crisis.” The 25-minute presentation will be followed by an opportunity for questions from the Zoom audience, and a final wrap-up by the moderator, Dick Prouty, and panelist, Candace Wheeler. For more information about the series and to register, please click here.
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 latest COVID-19 blog please click here.

  • COVID-19 Command Center Update: Read MEMA’s May 14 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 [email protected]