A message from our First Selectman regarding COVID-19 and furloughed restaurant workers
It’s been just over a month since, despite the far-off rumbles of viral insurrection, our days still followed the old rules: shop (or not), drive or walk or jog, eat in or dine out. We were allowed back-slaps, cheek-kisses, handshakes, shoulder-pats. We might have described our lives as normal. We didn’t know it then, but “normal” was about to be eradicated. For lack of an accredited definition, we wryly refer to this life-wrenching disruption as the New Normal. New it most certainly is. But there can be no single entry in any dictionary—least of all “normal--” that could come within a country mile of describing this unexpected turn of events. A friend of mine suggested that he could not have guessed that when we turned the clocks forward in March we were going to go from daylight savings time to the Twilight Zone.
Restaurant Strong Furloughed Worker Grants:
The Restaurant Strong movement, founded by The Greg Hill Foundation and Samuel Adams, is releasing grants to assist restaurant workers who have been laid off or furloughed. Any full-time employee working at least 30 hours total per week (workers who received 30 hours per week at multiple restaurants are eligible), were employed for at least three months at the same location and who complete an application form are eligible to qualify for grant assistance. Not every applicant will receive grants. Please see the following link for information and application: https://www.restaurantstrong.org/index.html
With that in mind, please support Deep River and shoreline restaurants if you can:See who is open and what their hours are at the following link: https://www.supporttheshoreline.com/
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Starts $5,000 Grant For Small Businesses:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has launched a new small grant program to assist small businesses as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Though it is not clear if the program is specifically for for-profit companies, all employers are recommended to apply. Applications will be online and open on April 20 at https://savesmallbusiness.com. Companies with between 3 and 20 employees are eligible, and they must be located in economically distressed communities. Currently Deep River is not eligible, but we are working on changing this.
The grants, valued at $5,000, will be awarded on a weekly basis until the money runs out. The grant funding can be used for any expenses including rent, operations and payroll. Applicants will need a W9 to complete the form.
Regarding the efficacy of exhalation interruption:
In the marketplace or other public gatherings as pertains to the possibility of gaining control over viral transmissions,
or:
Whether the scientific community considers that the wearing of face masks may have a positive effect on the spread of Coronavirus,
or:
Should I wear a face mask or respirator when in public spaces?
YES BUT……with limitations:
1] any material that may prevent spittle from entering the atmosphere can lessen the likelihood of transmitting disease-causing organisms to others;
2] a respirator adds one more barrier (elbow-coughing, hand-washing, six-foot-personal space-maintaining, et cetera) to our arsenal of simple weapons against disease transmission;
3] appearing in public in a respirator will give you (and others you encounter) a sense that you take disease transmission seriously, that when you venture from the safety of your hunkering den you are concerned with the public welfare—as well as your own. AND ALWAYS:
For information regarding the wearing and making of masks (and a whole lot more) please refer to the cdc at the following site:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html
Hold the course, stay safe, stay well, and remember:
Wash your hands;
Use anti-bacterial lotion;
Divert coughs and sneezes;
Wipe down objects used by others: phones, keyboards, door knobs, toilet seats, et cetera.
MAINTAIN PROPER SEPARATION.