The Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) application portals reopen at 10:30AM today. I would anticipate that the process will be slow with lots of interest – just try to be patient. Please note that your lender submits your PPP application. You (the business owner) would submit the EIDL application. Do the math to see what resources work best for your business.
The Governor announced the outlines of the Maryland Strong: Roadmap to Recovery on Friday, April 24 during his press conference. The Partnership’s website now is updated with links to the plan. Also included below is a brief overview/summary of the plan in case you want to take a quick glance as opposed to reading the entire document. If Maryland continues to hit the necessary data trends, we might begin to see some limited reopening in early May. Any businesses/etc reopening at that time are anticipated to have strict requirements to follow. We will keep you posted as we learn more.
Finally, during the Governor’s press conference, he announced that the new unemployment insurance system went down for about an hour on Friday morning when it launched (which he also indicated was an issue addressed with the vendor). Hopefully, issues with the system have eased since the initial kick off.
Website Updates for April 27
- Recovery, Reopening and Reentry
- Maryland Strong: Roadmap to Recovery: For the most up to date information on recovery plans for the State of Maryland, visit governor.maryland.gov/recovery. The Maryland Strong: Roadmap to Recovery released on April 24 can be downloaded here.
Updates from MD Dept of Commerce:
- Payroll Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster loan application portals reopen at 10:30 am TODAY. Apply for a PPP loan through an SBA approved lender. More than 90% of Maryland’s lenders are approved. This includes institutions other than banks. Apply for an EIDL directly on the SBA website.
- Updated State Department of Assessments and Taxation website: Maryland SDAT has updated its site to allow online filing of resolutions, which add, edit, or remove a resident agent and change the principal office location for businesses. In addition, Maryland LLCs can now file Articles of Cancellation online and other documents updating customers on the status of their filings, which have been enhanced to provide more detailed information, increase security, and ensure authenticity.
- Greater Washington Board of Trade briefing on the DMV’s path to recovery: Webinar with Virginia Secretary of Finance, Aubrey Layne; Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia, Jeff DeWitt; and Maryland Comptroller, Peter Franchot, who will share how they are approaching this crisis and what the path to fiscal, economic, and public health looks like in their jurisdictions.
Summary of Maryland Strong: Roadmap to Recovery:
Building Blocks. As Governor Hogan announced on Wednesday, Maryland has made considerable progress on the four building blocks that needed to be firmly in place before the state can consider lifting restrictions:
- Expanded testing capacity
- Increased hospital surge capacity
- Ramping up supply of PPE
- Robust contact tracing operation
Data Trends. To determine when a recovery can begin, Maryland officials will focus on the rate of hospitalizations and the number of patients admitted to ICU. If these numbers continue to plateau, Maryland could be ready to begin the recovery in early May. Marylanders can access this data daily at coronavirus.maryland.gov.
The ‘Maryland Strong: Roadmap to Recovery’ is divided into three stages:
- STAGE ONE calls for lifting the stay-at-home order, and involves business, community, religious, and quality of life improvements. Examples of changes that could be implemented in this stage include:
- Reopening of small shops and certain small businesses
- Curbside pickup and drop-off for businesses
- Elective medical and dental procedures at ambulatory, outpatient, and medical offices
- Limited attendance outdoor religious gatherings
- Recreational boating, fishing, golf, tennis, hiking, and hunting
- Reopening of car washes
- Limited outdoor gym and fitness classes
- Outdoor work with appropriate distancing measures
- Some personal services
- STAGE TWO will likely be a longer stage of the initial recovery, but will also be the stage when a large number of businesses and activities come back online. Any businesses that reopen during this period would need to comply with strict physical distancing and appropriate safety protocols. Examples of changes that could be implemented in this stage include:
- Raising the cap on social gatherings
- Indoor gyms and fitness classes
- Childcare centers
- Normal transit schedules
- Indoor religious gatherings
- Reopening of restaurants and bars with restrictions
- Elective and outpatient procedures at hospitals
- STAGE THREE will involve instituting higher-risk activities, but there is no realistic timeline yet for achieving this level. Examples of changes that could be implemented in this stage include:
- Larger social gatherings
- Reopening of high-capacity bars and restaurants
- Lessened restrictions on visits to nursing homes and hospitals
- Reopening of entertainment venues
- Larger religious gatherings
Regional Approach. The Roadmap contemplates offering some flexibility to health officers of county and municipal governments, and considering regional differences in COVID-19 conditions.
In each stage, the state will evaluate which localities meet appropriate gating criteria in the jurisdiction and/or region. In the event a locality has satisfied the gating criteria, county health officers will be permitted to expand the permitted activities and businesses under parameters of the current stage identified by the state.