Good evening everyone. The following Shelter in Place Updates was received today. Please do take the time to read over carefully.

JCBD Staff will be stopping by your businesses tomorrow for our check-in. Good opportunity to ask any questions that you may have.

We also recommend that you immediately apply for the Workers and Families First Paid Sick Leave Program (see below).

San Francisco’s order for people to stay safe at home was updated and broadened on March 31, 2020 in coordination with other Bay Area counties. This was necessary to help slow the spread of the virus and save lives. Our collective effort has so far been beneficial, but more is needed to prevent hospitals from being inundated. The main changes that take effect at midnight on March 31, 2020:

• Social distancing requirements are mandatory.

• Use of playgrounds, outdoor gym equipment, picnic areas, and barbecue areas is prohibited. 

• Use of shared recreational facilities like golf courses, tennis courts, basketball courts, and climbing walls is prohibited. 

• Sports or activities that include the use of shared equipment, like frisbee, basketball, or soccer, may only be engaged in by members of the same household. 

• Businesses that supply products needed for people to work from home are no longer essential businesses under the Order and must cease storefront sales to the public. Minimum basic operations and delivery directly to residences or businesses may continue. 

• Essential businesses like grocery stores, banks, and pharmacies can remain open but must stop running the parts of their operations that are not essential. Employees who can work from home must do so.

• Essential businesses must put in place formal rules, a social distancing protocol, to ensure proper sanitation and to ensure that people stay a safe distance away from each other.  

Read full order here (we’ve highlighted areas that pertain especially to essential businesses that are open in Japantown)

We will drop off a copy of the Appendix A - Social Distancing Protocol that essential businesses will have to fill out, post, and implement, as specified in Section 13.h. We will also provide you with the “Attention Stop the Spread of COVID-19” flyer that you will be required to post at the entry way.

Earlier this month Mayor London Breed announced measures to provide financial relief to San Francisco businesses and their employees, including the new San Francisco Workers and Families First Paid Sick Leave Program. The program includes $10 million in funding to support businesses and nonprofits to provide additional paid sick leave to employees, over and above their existing policies. The goal of the program is to reduce short and long-term economic impacts on San Francisco businesses and their employees caused by COVID-19.

Please share this information with your networks and encourage businesses to apply right away by clicking below or going to link.oewd.org/WFF.

Within 24 hours of the application being published late last Thursday, more than 100 San Francisco businesses had submitted pre-approval applications amounting to $1.6M, and by the close of business on Monday, the number had more than doubled to over 260 applications requesting more than $3.5M in support.

All San Francisco businesses are eligible, with up to 20% of funds reserved for small businesses with 50 or fewer employees. For more information on eligibility requirements, visit our step-by-step guide to the program, and learn more by checking out the program’s Frequently Asked Questions.

For assistance applying or for questions, employers may call the Office of Small Business at (415) 554-6134, or email us at sfosb@sfgov.org.

The Workers and Families First Paid Sick Leave Program is administered by the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) and the Human Services Agency (HSA). To learn more about other resources and services available to help San Francisco businesses, employees and nonprofits impacted by COVID-19, please visit our resource page updated daily.

The JCBD has created the JapantownSF Small Business Group on Facebook. The goal of this group page is to allow our small businesses a platform where they can share and exchange information. We’ve seen the effectiveness of this type of group page from other merchant corridors.

Please notethe changes in operating hours for the Japan Center Garage. Please share this information with your staff and customers.

SF Assessing Local Business Needs
Please take the time to fill this survey out. It only 5 minutes to complete. It will provide the Office of Small Business,OEWD, SBA, and other CIty departments info as to specific help our small business owners need now and how to reach them.