LATEST UPDATES
Trump Meets with Murphy: Feds sending $1.7 billion for hospitals, PPE and Test Kits: By all measures, Governor Murphy’s trip to Washington DC last week was a success – it resulted in billions of dollars in federal aid to struggling New Jersey hospitals and hundreds of thousands of PPE and test kits.
Shortly after his meeting with President Trump in the White House, Governor Murphy announced that New Jersey will receive hundreds of thousands of pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) and coronavirus test kits from the federal government. Later in the week, Murphy announced that the federal government will also be sending $1.7 billion in aid to 53 New Jersey hospitals to continue to combat the coronavirus pandemic. New Jersey’s piece of this emergency hospital funding is second only to New York.
The state is set to receive 19,000 goggles, 200,000 gowns and 1 million pairs of gloves, which will go to the 358 nursing homes in the state, which have been hit particularly hard by COVID-19. The federal government will also provide 550,000 new COVID-19 test kits and 700,000 swabs.
Rules Regarding Rental Property and Evictions: As per executive orders signed by Governor Murphy, no tenant may be removed from his or her home as a result of an eviction proceeding, with rare exceptions. Renters are also able to have their security deposit used to cover rent, either in part or in full.
The State has also developed a stand-alone webpage dedicated to providing information related to renters and landlords.
State Parks Opened this weekend: Earlier this week, Governor Murphy signed Executive Order No. 133, reopening state parks and golf courses and restoring the authority of county governments to do the same. This Saturday, state parks and forests opened to the public for passive recreation. All social distancing measures are still in place.
Murphy described this weekend’s reopening as a “huge test” for New Jersey residents. “This weekend is going to be an important one for us, and an important sign for how we move forward, and at what pace,” said Murphy.
“Social distancing is going to be the watch word,” he said. “We will be closely monitoring actions across the entire weekend.”
Feds Announce Rules for Main Street Lending Program: This week, the federal reserve released guidelines for its Main Street Lending Program that will offer four-year loans starting at $500,000 for small and medium-sized businesses impacted by coronavirus. To qualify, a business must have fewer than 15,000 employees or less than $5 billion in revenue in 2019. Lending institutions will administer this program and principle and interest payments will be deferred for one year.
For more information about the federal Main Street Lending Program, click here.
NJ Transit Revenues Bottom Out: From March 12th to the beginning of April, NJ Transit has lost 98% of its ridership and $29 million in fare revenue, as only essential workers are currently using the system. NJ Transit has enough revenue to cover operating costs through June. The agency already received a $1.43 billion grant through the federal CARES Act and plans to seek emergency reimbursement from FEMA.
Latest NJ COVID-19 Statistics: The number positive coronavirus test results in New Jersey has increased to a total of 126,744. The number of statewide coronavirus-related deaths is currently 7,871.
COVID-19 RESOURCES
All NJ residents with questions or concerns about COVID-19 and resources available to them should visit: www.covid19.nj.gov
US Small Business Administration Loans: New Jersey’s small businesses and private non-profit organizations facing hardship due to the coronavirus outbreak are eligible to apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans. These working capital loans are designed to help small and most non-profits meet their ordinary and financial business obligations during the pandemic.
Applicants may apply online and download applications at https://www.disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.
CARES Act: The programs and initiatives in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was just passed in Congress are intended to assist small business owners with whatever needs they have right now. For more information on the small business owner’s guide to the CARES Act, click here.
Jobs and Assistance: A new online portal to provide information to impacted small business owners. The portal includes information on Executive Orders, regulations impacting small businesses and access to financial assistance from the US Small Business Administration (SBA).
Testing Sites: There are currently 104 COVID-19 testing sites open across the state, including state-sponsored and private facilities. Click here to get updated information and locations of public testing sites.
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