Joint Communication to Carlsbad Businesses Regarding COVID-19 #31
Conditions in San Diego County continue to improve, as vaccination rates progress toward county goals. To date, 1.8 million county residents have received at least one dose, and 1.36 million county residents are fully vaccinated. As a result, both daily case rates and test positivity rates are lower than they have been in at least six months. What this means for businesses: operations are normalizing.What’s Next
June 15 is the projected end of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy tiered reopening system. According to Governor Newsom, after that date, most restrictions on businesses are set to expire. CDPH has release a memo detailing what is expected to change.According to CDPH and County of San Diego, the existing mask mandate is still in effect until June 15. Per CDPH, at that time, the state will align its mask guidance with the Center for Disease Control.
With conditions continuing to improve, many resources and programs are focusing on support for longer-term recovery rather than immediate relief programs. Below are a few programs that we thought may be applicable.
Carlsbad Cybersecurity-Awareness Program
The City of Carlsbad believes that now, more than ever, business resiliency is imperative. Coming out of the pandemic, businesses – especially small businesses – are in vulnerable positions and cannot afford another major impact on their operations. Over the last year, many companies have pivoted more of their operations online, from remote work and telecommuting to eCommerce and online marketing. Read more.The City of Carlsbad is proud to announce a partnership with the Cyber Center of Excellence (CCOE) to assist Carlsbad small businesses in becoming more cybersecurity-aware. At no cost to them, eligible Carlsbad businesses will receive
- A risk assessment that includes areas of vulnerability – provided by Mastercard’s RiskRecon
- Basic cybersecurity-awareness training for up to 100 employees from ESET North America
San Diego Business Hub
In partnership with GoSite, San Diego Regional EDC has launched the new “San Diego Business Hub”. In its first phase, the program will offer up to 100 small, service-based businesses a full suite of digital tools at no cost.Made possible by grants from The San Diego Foundation and Union Bank, SDBizHub.com is accepting applications from minority, women, veteran, and other economically under-resourced business owners across San Diego County.
Apply here!
Restaurant Revitalization Fund
The American Rescue Plan Act established the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) to provide assistance to help restaurants and other eligible businesses keep their doors open. This program will provide restaurants with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. Recipients are not required to repay the funding as long as funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023.Apply here!
Carlsbad Small Business Loan Program
The Carlsbad Small Business Loan Program provides low-interest loans for small businesses recovering from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program includes:- Micro-loans ($5,000 – $10,000) with a repayment term of up to 30 months
- Small business recovery loans ($10,000 – $50,000) with a repayment term of up to 60 months
- All loans are low-interest and have scaled rates depending on loan repayment schedule
While the end of the restrictions on business may be in sight, we know that many businesses are still far from normal operations. The City of Carlsbad is working to develop a long term recovery and development strategy that factors disparate impacts based on industries, business size, ownership structure, and other considerations. In that process, we will be seeking business input and engagement. Contact us at [email protected] if you would like to be involved.
