Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey issued an executive order that allows hospitals, surgical centers, dental offices and other health facilities to resume elective surgeries next Friday, May 1, if they can demonstrate actions to keep health care workers and patients safe.

We encourage you to contact a lender and finalize your PPP loan application. Once the next round of funding is approved by Congress,
and passed into law, the funds will go FAST! 
 
 

The CARES Act Readiness Program for Small Businesses is a Free Online Program.  For Novice or Experienced Borrowers depending on your borrowing experience. 
The program will walk you through the basics of business finance to submitting loan applications. Learn more and sign up for this free resource by visiting caresactaz.com
 

Governor Ducey shared on Wednesday the progress that has been made as Arizona continues to follow the Stay Home, Stay Healthy, and Stay Connected guidelines.  The governor presented slides showing the capacity of Arizona hospitals, the availability of ventilators and the capacity for both diagnostic and antibody testing at this moment in the coronavirus pandemic.  The biggest impact being in ventilators going from 330 to 1684.

Despite strides made, the governor was quick to state “there are still a lot of unknowns in front of us.”  Epidemiologists predict Arizona’s peak in cases is ahead, there’s no recognizable trend in the daily reporting of state COVID-19 cases. Since the Stay Home order, the number of daily cases has declined.

However, he repeated the strong recommendations regarding - 

• Face coverings
• Personal hygiene
• Behavior, and physical distancing

“You’re doing a great job,” Ducey told the public.

When pressed for next steps, the governor made it clear, “We will be guided by public health, first and foremost”.  In response to how he will open up the economy, the governor said. “Our approach going forward will be phased,” with gradual resumption of activity to “mitigate the risk of resurgence.

 “We do not want to lose the ground we’ve gained” with an immediate, full-blown reopening. “What we don’t want to do is make decisions too early.”
 Ducey could phase in activity county-by-county; his preference is “to do things statewide.”  In closing the governor asked for, “some patience, continued cooperation and partnership.”

Helpful Links to help you stay connected:
 ADHS Website, Arizona Together website, and a link to all Executive Orders. 

Additional Updates for this week:  

• The Arizona Commerce Authority and the Arizona Office of Tourism are gathering feedback through Friday on reopening, and what that could look like. Send an email to recovery@azcommerce.com if you have suggestions on policy or business best practices going forward. 
• Procurement:  Many have asked, for a list of resource offers that have been into the State related to COVID-19. Please note that this is not a vetted list. It is a direct output of the COVID-19 Offer Collection form we have been using for the past week or so. Vendors are asked a series of questions via this form, and the information collected is meant to be of use for others to do their own assessment per their own procurement practices.
• White House "Opening Up America Again" website might be of interest.  

As a reminder, the state of Arizona decisions will be based on public health and CDC guidance.

Congress has reached an agreement on an interim stimulus deal, which will provide $310 billion to replenish the Paycheck Protection Program. If everything moves according to plan, new SBA funding for both PPP and EIDL will be available by this Friday, April 24, 2020. 

Below are a couple helpful suggestions that will ensure your application is in queue and ready to access the funds made available though this valuable government program.  

• Contact Your Lender

 ​If you have an existing relationship with an Arizona lender, reach out to them first to see if they can process your Paycheck Protection Program Application. The following is a list of Arizona banks who are SBA approved lenders: PPP Lenders Arizona April 15, 2020 

• If you don’t have an existing banking relationship, or cannot submit through your current lender, we encourage you to utilize the services of a company such as Lendio. Lendio is an online tool that will connect you to a network of approved lenders who are ready and available to process your application. There is no fee to use Lendio's services.  
• Finalize Your PPP Application So It Is Ready To Be Submitted As Soon As The Program Is Approved By Congress. 
• Most Important ... Please Know You Are Not Alone.  This Is A Challenging Time And We Are Here To Help.

 
Below is a list of federal and state resources to help you navigate these very difficult times:

• Please visit the Small Business Administration for a comprehensive list of Federal Business Resources and Loan Programs programs: sba.gov 
• Small Business Development Center for application assistance and one-on-one consultation: azsbdc.net

We are here to help! Please contact us if you have questions or need additional information at admin@tucsonhispanicchamber.org,
visit our website at www.tucsonhispanicchamber.org or call us at 520.620.0005