| Good morning,
It’s been more than a month since our last bulletin on how coronavirus is affecting the regional economic landscape. Since that time, we’ve gone from cautious reopening to reversals as COVID-19 cases spiked in Arizona. Here’s the latest:
#1. Governor Doug Ducey hits the ‘rewind’ button on reopening with select business closures until at least July 27. Back in early May, the governor accelerated the state’s reopening, citing positive trends in coronavirus infection rates. By mid-May, the statewide stay-at-home order expired and within days of that, cases of COVID-19 began to spike.
Earlier this week, Gov. Ducey reversed course in the face of infection rates he described as “brutal” and issued an executive order re-closing bars, gyms, movie theaters and water parks until at least July 27. The order also prohibits gatherings of more than 50 people, although this doesn’t apply to political and religious meetings.
Arizona certainly isn’t alone in pausing or walking back its reopening plans as the map below shows.
As of yesterday, there were 79,215 cases of coronavirus in Arizona causing 1632 deaths. In Coconino, there have been 1828 confirmed cases and 90 deaths.
2. School openings also delayed. This week the governor also announced that the school year would be delayed until at least August 17. Schools can start the academic year prior to that date through distance learning as long as they submit their plans to the Arizona Department of Education. Schools that have implemented child care programs can continue to offer those services until the start of in-person classes.
3. Mask Up. Although stopping short of a statewide mandate to wear face coverings in public, Gov. Ducey is now allowing communities to issue their own mask requirements. Many northern Arizona cities, towns and counties quickly issued their own proclamation requiring masks, including Flagstaff, Winslow and Coconino County.
4. Deadline extended for PPP loans. Moving to the federal response, both houses of Congress have approved an extension for businesses to apply for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. The loans, which are forgivable if used for approved purposes, were extremely popular during their first round in early April, but a second round would have ended Tuesday with $130 billion in funds still untapped. If signed by President Trump, the application period would be reopened until August 8. According to the Small Business Administration, more than 4.8 million loans worth a total of $521 billion have been issued. The average loan size is about about $107,000.
I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July weekend. Stay safe, keep informed and hang in there.
Gail Jackson
Interim President & CEO
Economic Collaborative
of Northern Arizona |
