Updates: March 16, 2020

March 16, 2020

Gov. Jay Inslee announced that all restaurants, bars and entertainment or recreational facilities are ordered closed as of midnight, March 16, 2020 (Monday night). The order includes:

• Restaurants
• Food courts
• Hotel gyms/exercise rooms
• Bars and taverns
• Wine, beer and spirits tasting venues
• Doughnut shops and ice cream parlors
• Coffee shops
• Sit-down restaurants and bars

The closures will last until at least March 31, with the option of extending them. Take-out, drive-thru and delivery orders will be available for customers.

Read the governor’s complete statement here.

See Gov. Inslee’s full press conference with King County Executive Dow Constantine here.

Read the King County Local Health Officer order here: LHO Order Gatherings Over 50.

Update: Did you know that beer/wine delivery service is possible in Washington state? We’ve got a resource for you right here.

Applications for federal funds for Small Business Administration (SBA) emergency loans now available.

On March 6, President Trump signed an $8.3 billion emergency spending bill related to COVID-19. The legislation includes funding for the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide low-interest federal disaster loans for small businesses dealing with economic loss due to coronavirus. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact.

The Seattle local government affairs team has been working with the Seattle Office of Economic Development to provide necessary documentation to make King County eligible for economic injury assistance; once a county is approved, contiguous counties also become eligible.  Disaster loans can provide vital economic assistance to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing. For details about the loans, click here. To access a business resiliency toolkit, click here.