LEAD NEWS: Governor's Update
Today during his press conference, Governor Northam announced that the earliest date that the Commonwealth will move into Phase 2 is June 5 (next Friday). Although recent numbers have been trending positive, he stated that the administration is continuing to move very carefully and deliberately forward. Northern Virginia, the City of Richmond, and Accomack County will move to Phase 1 tomorrow. These areas may also be able to move to Phase 2 as soon as June 5. The Governor expressed a desire for all areas to "[move] together at the same time."
The Governor also noted that all public beaches in the state can reopen if they have guidelines in place such as the ones that Virginia Beach has implemented.
Last, remember that tomorrow is the starting date for all Virginians to wear face coverings inside any public building. Again, the exceptions include:
- While eating or drinking at a restaurant,
- While exercising,
- For those with a health condition that keeps them from wearing a face covering,
- For those who may have trouble breathing and/or removing the face covering without help,
- When communicating with a person who is hard of hearing,
- While participating in a religious ritual,
- When it is necessary to secure government or medical services, and
- For children under 10.
The Governor stressed that this directive will not be enforced by law enforcement, but can be enforced by the VDH. He appealed to all Virginians to follow the advice.
Read Executive Order 63 here
, and
get more information here
about how the directive will be enforced.
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Federal Update:
Help Get PPP Fixes Across the Finish Line!
Earlier today, the House of Representatives passed a
bipartisan bill
fixing the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
The Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act makes desperately-needed improvements for restaurants and others with PPP loans, including:
- greater flexibility in how a recipients can use a PPP loan
- longer timeframe for using a PPP loan
- improving the rehire deadline to allow a PPP loan to be forgiven
More details on the bill can be found on the National Restaurant Association's
advocacy website
.
The bill was approved overwhelmingly in the House, but it has an uncertain path in the Senate. They need to hear from you now to pass this bill, fix the PPP, and preserve America’s hospitality sector!
Restaurants:
Click here
to for the NRA action alert - contact your Senators.
Hoteliers:
Click here
for the AHLA action alert - contact your Senators.
Thank you for supporting the hospitality industry!
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Local Update: Fairfax County
Today, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved an emergency ordinance to help businesses move safely into Phase One by temporarily allowing outdoor dining, outdoor fitness, and exercise activities to expand outdoors into parking lots at 50 percent of indoor capacity without a permit and without going through a zoning process.
The full ordinance can be found here.
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Local Update: VRLTA Staff Helps Pass out PPE Kits with ForwardRVA
VRLTA staffers worked today to help pass out hundreds of starter PPE kits to small businesses in the greater Richmond area. The kits included face coverings, hand sanitizer, gloves, signage, and more. For more information, visit
www.forwardrva.com
.
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Reopening Resources
We continue to post resources related to reopening on our website.
Visit this page
for the latest reopening resources, and
this page
for the latest news.
PPE Resources -
- Sysco - currently in stock: masks, gloves in a variety of sizes, hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes, surface sanitizers, and bleach - contact your sales rep for the latest product availability and pricing; also has a NEW reopening guide here
- PFG - contact your sales rep for the latest product availability
- Safeguard Promotional Products - facemasks and shields, hand sanitizer, gloves, gowns, acrylic shields (for checkout stands) - pricing here, or visit https://www.safeguardjack.com/ or contact Anne Meagher Watson at 804.355.2679 or Anne@SafeguardJack.com
- KO Distilling is producing Bare Knuckle Hand Sanitizer. More information can be found here.
- The Hand Sanitizer Guys have bulk/wholesale hand sanitizer and hand sanitizing stations. Serving the NoVa and DC metro area.
Other Resources -
- National Restaurant Association - Has free reopening guidance available here.
- ServSafe - Has free reopening training available on demand here.
- EMR - Now through June 30, any new service call (existing EMR restaurant customers and new restaurant customers), regardless of their previous labor and travel rate for kitchen equipment service, will receive $99/hr labor, and $99 travel. Also, the company has a maintenance list for closed kitchens here. Visit www.emrco.com/locations for more info.
- Ecolab - Has a variety of cleaning and sanitizing products available (list for hospitality and list for foodservice); Contact Carey Friedman at carey.friedman@ecolab.com or 804.840.3943
- BMS Direct Inc - for printing of restaurant placemats and menus, including washable menus coming soon! VRLTA members get discounted pricing. Visit this link for more information or email leif.aagaard@bmsdirectinc.com for inquiries.
- Push Operations - Push Operations is a labor management solution for restaurants. Push is now offering restaurants its employee health pre-screening software. The software allows contactless temperature checks for employees, customizable pre-health check questions to employees, and effortless communication to employees who’ve worked with a team member that has Covid-19. This service is complimentary for VRLTA members! More information: https://pushoperations.com/covid-19-features/ or Tommy Truong at Tommy@pushoperations.com or 778.858.6325.
- Sestra Systems - Offers touchless beverage dispensing and hand sanitizer stations.
- Open Table - Their Open Door program, starting this month, offers new solutions and reduced or eliminated fees. Learn more here.
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Virginia Restaurant Promise - Poster to print!
VRLTA has worked with health departments, localities, and restaurants to develop the Virginia Restaurant Promise, a set of commitments to
employees and customers. We've put together a poster in three sizes that restaurants can print out and post.
Help spread the word!
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Support the VRLTA Restaurant & Hospitality Relief Fund
VRLTA's industry relief fund is aiding workers displaced by the recent restaurant and hospitality industry shutdowns and also helping affected businesses. Over $30,000 has been raised to date!
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Virginia is for Restaurant Lovers Merchandise Supports the VRLTA Relief Fund - Make a purchase to show your support today!
VRLTA has also partnered with the Virginia Tourism Corporation to create a Virginia is for Restaurant Lovers t-shirt, and other merchandise, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Fund.
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