Dear Neighbors,
Today, Mayor Lightfoot, in partnership with the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), industry leaders, labor leaders, and public officials from around Chicago, released industry-specific guidelines for businesses, employees, and customers to follow as the city prepares to begin safely reopening in early June.
Dates will be announced soon.
Industry-specific guidelines include details such as how businesses can engage in healthy interactions between workers and customers, how to maintain safe working spaces and conditions, and how to design and monitor workplace operations to create flexibility and maintain safety for employees and customers. The guidelines are aligned with the State-issued guidelines, with specificity included for Chicago’s context.
Guidelines for the following industries, which will open the earliest in phase three in Chicago, can be found at
www.chicago.gov/reopening
:
- Education & Childcare
- Buildings & Real Estate
- Food Service
- Accommodations & Tourism
- Retail
- B2B
- Healthcare
- Transportation
At this time, the guidelines do NOT include the "open streets" concept that we discussed in our recent survey. The City is allowing restaurants with windows that open to use that seating. We expect responses from the City soon on those concepts. In tomorrow's newsletter, we will discuss the results of our survey - well over 1,000 people participated!
Businesses Will Need Personal Protective Equipment to Re-Open Safely
As the city prepares to enter the next phase of reopening, organizations will need access to personal protective equipment (PPE) to help protect workers from contracting or spreading COVID-19.
To support a safe and efficient reopenin
g, the City of Chicago has launched the
Chicago PPE Market
. This online platform was developed by local startup Rheaply with the partnership and support of World Business Chicago.
Buyer registration is now open.
Register for the Chicago PPE Market
and then check your email for a link to access the online platform. The PPE Market provides Chicago's small businesses, community-based organizations, and not-for-profits with transparent pricing and direct access to local PPE suppliers. Organizations can purchase PPE in three steps:
- Browse available listings for reusable face coverings, hand sanitizer, and protective shields
- Request to purchase specific PPE based on your desired quantity and the advertised price
- Communicate directly with the supplier through the in-platform messaging feature to agree on payment and pick-up or delivery details
The costs to purchase PPE may be significant for some small businesses.
We will continue to accept donated face masks to aid people in need in our community and small businesses. If you would like to donate face masks, please contact
yourvoice@ward43.org
so we can arrange pick-up.
