Dear Chester,
Here is the latest from today's municipal leaders' call. I have been approached with several questions in the last couple of days, particularly about reopening details. Hopefully some of those issues are addressed here.
REOPENING
First, we should expect some specific guidance about business rules for reopening to be posted prior to this weekend on the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) website. Rules about PPE, barriers, disinfectant, capacity, etc. will be addressed. The State is trying to break down the businesses by type, ability to maintain social distancing, and so on. Outdoor dining almost certainly will be allowed. Indoor dining may not. The earliest reopening for those "non-essential" businesses will begin May 20th, but not all business will be included in this phase. Please watch this carefully and make sure you are aware of and able to follow the requirements; otherwise your business may not be able to reopen. This first phase may be extremely limited, so please be prepared.
Three phases of reopening, assuming continuing good progress in keeping hospitalizations and deaths at bay.
Phase One - Estimated to start May 20th
Phase Two - somewhere around June 29-July 1
Phase Three - August
A
CUTE HEALTH EMERGENCIES
Reports have been made that calls to 911 are seeing more acute problems than normal, which has been attributed to two things: 1) People are afraid to call 911 and risk COVID transmission in transport or at the hospital, or 2) lost employment has caused loss of health insurance and inability to cover costs. The end result of this may be that people are waiting too long to seek help, and therefore are dying or being hospitalized unnecessarily. If you are not already aware, if you have lost your job or had a sudden change in circumstances that caused loss of health insurance, you can go to access health and apply for health insurance on the exchange. Depending on your income level, there is a wide range of costs, including the no cost HUSKY program.
SELF EMPLOYED PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE (PUA)
The State is struggling somewhat to roll out this program, primarily due to getting the technology right. Originally announced for April 30th, then for today, now it is hoped to be active by the end of this week. This is a two step program; first the individual needs to apply for regular unemployment and be denied. The second step is the one not quite ready. After being denied for the regular unemployment program, the worker will apply for the PUA program, using the first denial to get past the first level.
What I was told today is that the first part can be done in preparation for the "red button" to show up on the DOL website. Guidance is then to make sure you designate your payment type, preferably direct deposit, which will save 1-2 weeks in getting the first payment. Additionally, it was advised to gather either your 2019 tax return or your 2019 supporting tax documents (W-2's, etc), as they will be necessary to justify the PUA claim when the access point becomes available. All of this can be done on the "filectui" website. Sorry I do not have better news - this is a complex process. I will keep watching for the access to become available and will try to keep you all posted on any news.
Be well,
Lauren
