Florida Chamber COVID-19 Membership Update: March 29, 2020

March 29, 2020

A Message from the Florida Chamber: COVID-19 Update

Good morning. We’re just one day away from our statewide COVID-19 conference call with Governor Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Scott Rivkees . It’s taking place Monday, March 30 ^th at 2 p.m. EST, and we’re almost at capacity. Please register now to hear the latest Florida specific details on COVID-19 and what Chamber members need to know.

Florida now has 4,038 positive cases, that’s an increase of 840 since yesterday. We’ve had 56 deaths, and one additional county (Hendry) reported its first positive case yesterday, bringing the total number of counties with positive cases to 50. Yesterday, Florida tested more than 9,000 Floridians, our largest daily increase, and has tested more than 43,000 in total. Governor DeSantis continues to beat the drum that we need more testing (which means more supplies for testing from a globally drained and strained supply chain). I’m very glad to see his efforts, along with Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz , are working as this is a very important trend that will save lives and allow Florida to keep learning about patterns related to COVID-19 and how to contain it and, eventually, when and where it is safe to begin resuming regular activity – more on this in a future email.

Regarding the actions of Congress and small business loans, Florida has more than 2 million small businesses that should qualify and we’re here to help. Soon, the Florida Chamber’s Small Business Council, chaired by Glenda Hood, will hold an important webinar in the coming few days to provide more information, so be on the lookout for call-in details. In the meantime, be sure to check out the small business emergency loan guide and checklist to help protect workers and jobs. Special thanks to Sara Armstrong at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for her partnership on this.

Florida Chamber members, and the ways they are giving back, are reminding all of us of the power of free enterprise – you are awesome! Remember, our frontline healthcare workers still need N95 masks. From donating masks through the Florida Chamber’s make-shift emergency call center, to making hand sanitizer and more, see all the great things your fellow Florida Chamber members are doing as we all fight the impact of this pandemic together. Please contact Tanya Bechtold at [email protected] or 850-521-1218 in our COVID-19 Call Center if you have the ability to manufacture swabs and/or masks, procure them and/or donate them.

My team and I are in constant contact with business and government leaders and what I continue seeing from our free enterprise system is nothing short of amazing. If there’s information I’m not providing in this daily email, simply let me know and we’ll make every effort to get you what you need in our collective time of need. Share this with others and ask them to sign-up to receive a copy.

My Best,

Mark Wilson

President and CEO

Economic Relief

Florida Businesses Responding

Nationwide Foundation Donates $5 million

Nationwide Foundation is contributing $5 million to local and national charities for COVID-19 pandemic support. Click here to read more.

Tropicana Products, Inc. (PepsiCo) Enhances Employee Benefits

PepsiCo will provide enhanced benefits to all U.S. employees and additional compensation to U.S. frontline employees – the women and men who make, move and sell products. This covers more than 90,000 frontline employees and consists of a minimum of an incremental $100 per week for full-time employees over the next month. Click here t o learn more.

AT&T Helps with Distance Learning and Employee Appreciation

AT&T unveiled a $10 million Distance Learning and Family Connections Fund to give parents, students and teachers tools they need for at-home learning, and to provide resources to maintain meaningful connections for those isolated from family and friends. AT&T pledged to not disconnect residential or small business customers who do not pay their bill for internet, home phone service, or broadband for the next 60 days; will not charge late payment fees if they are due to economic hardship related to the coronavirus pandemic; and pledged to keep its network of public WiFi hotspots open “for any American who needs them.” Click here to learn more. For more on AT&T’s latest updates, click here . Also, gives 20% bonus to frontline employees. To show our appreciation for our frontline employees, effective March 25 and until further notice, we’ll pay a 20% bonus above the regular hourly base rate of pay to bargained-for employees for all time worked in the office or at home. We appreciate our employees’ commitment to being there for our customers and each other.

Share Your Story : Businesses of all sizes and sectors are stepping up to address this crisis. Share your company’s story by emailing Christi McCray at [email protected] .

Top Stories

COVID-19: Number of Cases in Florida

Data Source: Florida Department of Health’s COVID-19 Dashboard

Public Safety Alerts

Governor DeSantis issued a Public Safety Alert on mobile devices advising persons 65+ or with underlying medical conditions

to stay home.

Securing Rapid Testing

Governor DeSantis announced he’s securing rapid COVID-19 tests which process results in 5-15 minutes.

Screening Travelers

Additional checkpoints are being set up on I-10 and I-95 to screen individuals who are arriving from COVID-19 hotspots.

$100 Million From

Rebuild Florida

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) announced $100 million of additional funds is now available to local governments in communities impacted by Hurricane Irma through the Rebuild Florida Infrastructure Repair Program .

SeaWorld

SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. said more than 90% of its employees will be furloughed effective April 1.

Delta Air Lines

The airline announced it will fly medical workers without charge to parts of the country where coronavirus infections are

spreading rapidly.

United Airlines

United Airlines said it won’t furlough workers or impose pay cuts in the U.S. until September 30.

Countries Reporting Confirmed Cases: 161

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Austria, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Central African Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Easter Island, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Eswatini, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gaza, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tahiti, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, U.K., U.S., Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe, Vatican City, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

National and global updates brought to you by the Florida Chamber in partnership with Hill+Knowlton Strategies.