ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WBOC/AP)- Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan ordered all non-essential businesses in the state to close effective at 5 p.m. Monday, March 23, to prevent further spread of COVID-19. He also announced initiatives to provide relief to small businesses and employees.
“Furthermore aggressive actions will be taken by state and local authorities to disperse these gatherings,” Hogan said in a Monday press conference. The governor explained that many Maryland residents continue to flout social distancing guidelines and ignored a ban on mass gatherings of more than 10 people.
The order does NOT include essential or critical industries as defined by the federal government including: health care, law enforcement, emergency workers, food, energy, water, transportation, public works, communications, government, critical manufacturing, financial services, chemicals and defense. For a non-exhaustive list of what are considered essential businesses click here.
Economic Relief Package
Hogan also announced several ways the state is trying to help small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re still pushing very hard for major economic stimulus,” he said.
The measures include:
- The Maryland Department of Commerce will offer up to $125 million in loans and grants to small businesses and nonprofits through the Maryland Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund. A $75 million loan fund and a $50 million grant fund, with $1 million in grants dedicated to non-profits, will provide working capital to be used for payroll, rent, fixed-debt payments and other mission critical cash operating costs. Businesses and nonprofits with under 50 full- and part-time employees will be eligible, and loans will range up to $50,000 and grants up to $10,000. Additional eligibility requirements can be found here.
- Maryland Commerce is also working on creating a $5 million fund to incentivize businesses to manufacture personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies to satisfy the increasing needs of the healthcare industry.
- The department also has a number of existing financing programs, like Advantage Maryland, which provides conditional loans for new businesses or business expansions; the Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority and Fund (MIDFA), which provides loan guarantees; the Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority (MSBDFA), which provides financial assistance to economically disadvantaged businesses; and the Non-Profit Interest-Free Micro-Bridge Loan Program, which provides loans to nonprofits to support ongoing operating costs while waiting on a future government grant or contract. A total of about $40 million is available through these existing programs.
- Hogan has allocated $5 million and the Maryland Department of Labor has allocated $2 million to collaboratively launch the COVID-19 Layoff Aversion Fund. A total of $7 million in funds will be available to provide flexible rapid response services to proactively support businesses and workers undergoing economic stresses due to COVID-19. Funding can help Maryland’s workforce adhere to social distancing policies by purchasing remote access equipment and software to allow employees to work from home, providing on-site cleaning and sanitation services at businesses that have workers delivering essential services, and implementing other creative strategies to mitigate potential layoffs or closures in the business community.
Latest on the Fight Against COVID-19
Maryland has had 288 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and three deaths.
Out of Maryland’s 24 counties, 21 counties have reported positive COVID-19 cases. The only counties that haven’t reported cases are Allegany, Dorchester and Kent counties.
The governor also announced steps to add hospital beds, with University of Maryland Medical System agreeing to reopen Laurel Hospital, to make another 135 beds available. He noted plans to turn the Baltimore Convention Center into an alternate care site. He also announced a pilot coronavirus drive-thru screening location at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.
Hogan also said the state will take stronger enforcement actions against people who gather in groups of more than 10 people. He said the state was not ordering shelter-in-place, but that all state residents are urged to remain home and employers are urged to promote work-from-home arrangements as much as possible.
“Let me repeat once again as strongly as I possibly can: if you are engaged in this kind of activity you are breaking the law, and you are literally endangering the lives of your family, your friends and your fellow citizens," Hogan said.