Earlier this week, San Francisco, in tandem with five other Bay Area counties — Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo and Santa Clara — announced extensions "through May" to their respective shelter-in-place orders.

SRBX has written a joint letter to each of the Bay Area Public Health Directors detailing the enhance safety protocols and CDC guidelines that construction sites are implementing and urged each county to align with state orders by recognizing all construction as “essential” and include all aspects of construction to their revised orders.  Read letter here. 

SMUD's commitment to not shutting off power for non-payment has been extended through May 30th. The link to all SMUD COVID responses can be found at: 
​https://www.smud.org/en/Corporate/About-us/News-and-Media/Coronavirus-COVID-19.

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities.

Interest in PPP was very high and all funds were lent out by April 15, 2020. The addition of $320B is expected to pass the House of Representatives on 4/23, with President Trump expected to sign into law shortly thereafter. The specific availability date of funds with authorized lenders is not yet known.

Interested small businesses should visit the SBA PPP website or speak with their banking institution for more information on program requirements.

OSHA Issues COVID-19 Interim Enforcement Response Plan
Continuing its recent trend to update employers on COVID-19 safety, on April 13, 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an Interim Enforcement Response Plan for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), providing specific guidance to all OSHA Regional Administrators and State Plan Designees on how to investigate potential COVID-19 hazards. The guidance addresses how OSHA offices should allocate resources for protecting workers across all industries. Here Cal/OSHA has a plethora of resources on their COVID-19 page

Governor Newsom Outlines Six Critical Indicators the State will Consider Before Modifying the Stay-at-Home Order
Newsom unveiled six key indicators that will guide California’s thinking for when and how to modify the stay-at-home and other orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
California’s six indicators for modifying the stay-at-home order are:

• The ability to monitor and protect our communities through testing, contact tracing, isolating, and supporting those who are positive or exposed;
• The ability to prevent infection in people who are at risk for more severe COVID-19;
• The ability of the hospital and health systems to handle surges;
• The ability to develop therapeutics to meet the demand;
• The ability for businesses, schools, and child care facilities to support physical distancing; and
• The ability to determine when to reinstitute certain measures, such as the stay-at-home orders, if necessary.

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The Governor said there is not a precise timeline for modifying the stay-at-home order, but that these six indicators will serve as the framework for making that decision. Newsom has issued 29 executive orders since March – you can see the list here.