According to this afternoon's weekly report from California state health officials, Ventura County has officially moved into the orange tier, effective 12:01 AM on Wednesday, April 7! You can view the business re-openings for all sectors on the state website, but here are the highlights:

For more detailed information about what is allowed and in what capacities, here are some resources:

You may also call (844) VC-OPENS or E-mail covidcompliance@ventura.org for more information.

Under current rules (that are subject to change by state health officials), a county must have sufficiently low new COVID-19 case rates to advance to a less-restrictive tier. The current standard to yellow tier is a daily adjusted new case rate below 1.0 per 100K population. When California has vaccinated 4 million people in its healthy equity areas (expected later this month), then the standard for yellow tier will be a daily adjusted new case rate below 2.0 per 100K population. For reference, here are recent figures for Ventura County:

State rules require a county to meet the requirements for a less restrictive tier for two consecutive weeks before moving into that tier. Additionally, current state rules require a county to be in a tier for a minimum of three weeks before advancing to the next tier. Thus, barring more changes to the system, the earliest possible timeline to advance to yellow tier is an announcement on April 27, to be effective on April 28.

State health officials will continue publishing weekly statistics every Tuesday afternoon at covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/.

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The deadline to apply for the second round of Ventura County's $5,000 COVID-19 Business Assistance Grants is 6:00 PM today, April 6. The County has funds set aside for 4,000 grants, and fewer than 4,000 applications have been received thus far. The application is entirely on-line at www.VCbusinessgrants.org. This remains one of the easiest grant applications yet seen during the pandemic, and the County has established a call center at (888) 405-1004 if you have questions or need assistance.

To be eligible, businesses must have annual revenues between $25,000 and $2.5 million. Businesses who previously received Ventura County Business Assistance Grants in the first round are not eligible. Please review the program flyer below for more information.

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Wednesday, April 7, 10:30 AM | Register Here

Your relationship with your business has a life cycle, and there will come a time when your most valuable asset will change hands - you will cease to be the owner. Whether that transition is successful is up to you. This webinar will cover exit planning, how to transition a business, and personal and financial aspects to be considered.

Wednesday, April 7, 5:00 PM | Register Here

Dr. Amy Saltzman, M.D., will show you how mindfulness and self-compassion practices can support you during this unusual and stressful time. Dr. Amy will offer practical skills, scientifically proven to benefit business owners and employees, people dealing with typical day-to-day stress, and those facing more intense challenges.

Tuesday, April 13, 10:30 AM | Register Here

Understand the features, functions, and benefits of QuickBooks Online to help you implement accounting best practices to manage your business finances, including COVID-19 Funds and Forgiveness. You are highly encouraged to bring your own questions and situations to be solved or used as examples during live demonstrations, and Juliana Ramirez of JR Bookkeeping will answer your questions live.

Tuesday, April 13, 5:00 PM | Register Here

Learn the strategies, tactics, and secrets for building a recognizable brand that turns one-time shoppers into lifelong customers. Learn exactly what a brand is and what it does in the world, along with the keys to building a successful one.

Wednesday, April 14, 10:30 AM | Register Here

With online sales growing more and more, now is the time to learn about the basics of setting up your own Amazon store. Learn how critical it is to have multiple e-commerce channels and why Amazon is one of the keys. Learn how to assess your profitability, how to set up an Amazon store, and what goes into keeping your store competitive.