Regional Stakeholders,
During a crisis, timely, accurate, and actionable information is important. In order to help you get this information, GNO, Inc. is sending out regular updates. Please see below, and feel free to forward.
April 6, 2020 Update
News
- Flattening the Curve – Two weeks after instituting a stay-at-home order for Louisiana’s 4.6 million residents,Gov. John Bel Edwards on Monday said the New Orleans area was no longer on track to run out of ventilators and hospital beds this week, as the state sees what officials hope are the first measurable signs of the outbreak slowing.
- Feds to Buy Small Business Loans – In a move to increase the lending capacity of banks across the country, the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department are planning to launch a new program to buy loans that financial firms make through the government’s emergency small-business lending program (the Paycheck Protection Program), the Wall Street Journalreported. This would create a secondary market, similar to what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do for mortgages.
- Tulane Gets $10M to Study Coronavirus – Tulane National Primate Research Center has been awarded a $10.3 million contract to evaluate vaccines and treatments for coronavirus. A news release said the federal funding was awarded by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The three-year award will study three species of nonhuman primates that will help determine which treatments are the safest and most effective.
Information
- Paycheck Protection Program – The forgivable loan program entered its first full week of applications today.
- GNO, Inc.’s overview of the program is here.
- You can find the latest guidance on the U.S. Department of Treasury website here.
- Finally, there is a GNO, Inc. webinar, with questions and answers, here.
- Entergy Small Business Webinar – Entergy will be hosting a webinar at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 9, including U.S. Rep. Garret Graves; LED Secretary Don Pierson; and Stephen Waguespack, president and CEO of LABI; who will provide insights to help navigate newly created assistance programs. Here’s the link to join the webinar Thursday morning and any specific questions for the panelists can be emailed ahead of time to [email protected].
Resources
- Looking for COVID-19 Supplies/Services? – If you are looking for PPE, sanitizer, food providers, and other related products and services, search the GNOpivot Resource Tool.
- Looking for Customers? – If you have pivoted your business to make a new, coronavirus-related product, register on GNOpivot.
- Looking for Employees? – A database of local talent looking for new job opportunities, including quick employment history and skills summary, is on the WorkNOLA Workforce Directory.
- Looking for Work? – New opportunities are on WorkNOLA.com.
As always, general information is on the GNO, Inc. Coronavirus Business Resource Page.
Please feel free to contact me [email protected] or VP Policy Ileana Ledet at [email protected] with any questions or suggestions.
Take care,
Michael
