Governor Sununu: “We Are Going to Have to Live with COVID-19 for the Indefinite Future.”
In an interview with WKXL’s Chris Ryan, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu discusses how the Granite State is dealing with the gradual reopening of the economy; the details of his $400 million Main Street Relief Fund to help small businesses; and the plans for the next phase of easing the stay at home orders.
The Governor hopes that as the restrictions are eased people will continue to make decisions which will keep themselves and others safe—social distancing, hygiene, etc. If we can keep our numbers of cases down as things are gradually flexed open, then we won’t have a serious stress on our healthcare system and have the need to shut things down again. Governor Sununu is committed to a gradual approach, “If you take small steps forward, you can hopefully continue to keep taking them forward.”
As part of the $2 trillion CARES-Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security ACT, New Hampshire has $400 million set aside to help small businesses. Governor Sununu explains how his Main Street Relief Fund will bring grant money quickly and fairly to “for profit” small businesses which have less than $20 million per year in revenue. There are separate programs which are designed to assist non-profit enterprises, medical, and agricultural businesses. The forms, which are available at nh.gov website, must be submitted by this Friday, May 29. The difference between what the business usually makes and how much it has lost due to the lockdown is calculated. Everyone is put into a pot, and then pro rata shares of the $400 million will be determined based on need. The facts and figures will be checked by the State Department of Revenue Administration. The goal of the Main Street Relief Fund is to get grant money quickly to small businesses in New Hampshire which may have been left out by the big, complicated federal programs. Business owners are free to use the grant to pay off loans, property taxes, or whatever way that will help them to survive these hard times.
The last portion of the interview deals with what will be the next phase of the reopening. According to Governor Sununu we are currently in Phase 2 or “Stay at Home 2.0”, and we will continue with this level for a few more weeks. As the data comes in and if the percentage of cases stays at around 5%, groups larger than 10 or restaurant capacity of 50% might be allowed. The Governor fears a situation where there would be a super cluster event where an individual with the Coronavirus could infect hundreds of people within an hour.
