• Ken Riehl, CEO, [email protected]

• Peter Webber, Sr. VP, [email protected]

• Olivia Perez-O’Dess, Member Services Director, [email protected]

• Massachusetts Offers General Business Guidance with information to help businesses meet the self-certification requirement to reopen. All businesses must meet these requirements before reopening. Businesses operating to provide Essential Services may remain open and have until May 25, 2020 to comply with these mandatory safety standards.

• COVID-19 control plan template – Template that satisfies the written control plan requirement for self-certification

• 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

• Hygienic or Protective Supplies for the Workplace – Resources to help inform employers and employees about supplies needed to return to workplaces, and connect businesses with manufacturers and distributors.

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

• Reopening – 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. These new standards will apply universally to all workplaces that are open in Phase 1, and are designed to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission to employees and customers during the first phase of reopening, and are applicable to all sectors and industries.

• CARRYOUTMA. We invite our readers to check out this new website created by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association. This is a great resource designed to help us support our favorite local eateries offering take-out, curbside pick-up and delivery services.

• 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.

• 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. Special note: As of May 18, COVID-19 testing numbers reflect the date a test is administered, rather than the date the test result is received. DPH believes this to be a more precise picture of how many people are getting tested each day.

• Irish Sweepstakes Drawing Tomorrow. Don't miss the Irish Sweepstakes drawing this Thursday, May 21, starting at 7 pm, as a Facebook Premier event.

• 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. For assistance in posting job openings for your business, please contact Olivia Perez-O’Dess at [email protected].

• The Chamber’s special COVID-19 information and resource page - including information and updates about Cape Ann’s businesses and their operations – continues to be updated daily. Please send your business information and updates to Olivia Perez-O’Dess ([email protected]). These lists include take out and delivery options, retailers, banks and grocery store hours.

• 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.  

• Rockport Eases Bearskin Neck Restrictions/ Creates Reopening Advisory Group. At their meeting Tuesday afternoon the Rockport Board of Selectmen voted to end the resident-only restrictions for the Bearskin Neck area that had been in place for the past several weeks. The Board of Health order requiring the wearing of face coverings in the town’s downtown district remains in effect. Rockport has also created a Reopening Advisory Group to assist in the phased reopening of the town’s businesses in alignment with the Governor’s “comprehensive plan to safely reopen the Massachusetts economy, get people back to work, and ease social restrictions while minimizing the health impacts of COVID-19.” For updates on the Town of Rockport’s ongoing response to the pandemic, please visit 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.

• SCORE Webinar: Reopening Your Business. On Friday, May 22 from 11 am to noon, SCORE is offering a free webinar entitled “Steps to Reopen Your Business & Create a Successful Strategy”. For more information and to register, please click here.

• Caffe Sicilia Reopens for Take-Out. Caffe Sicilia is now open for take-out service Wednesday through Saturday, 8:30 am to 2:30 pm and Sunday from 8:30 to 11;30 am. For more information and to view their menu please click here.

• Congratulate and Say Thank-You 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 [email protected].

• 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.

• Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM). For AIM’s latest COVID-19 blog please click here.

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

• Department of Public Health: Safer-at-Home Advisory

• 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.

• Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante: Most recent update

• Centers for Disease Control

• Symptoms and Self-Checker

• What You Need to Know

• Congressman Seth Moulton: Updates and Resources

• OSHA Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19

• Essex: www.essexma.org

• Gloucester: www.gloucester-ma.gov

• Manchester-by-the-Sea: www.manchester.ma.us

• Rockport: www.rockportma.gov