News Flash

With Executive Order Sixty-One, the Governor of Virginia announced Phase 1 of reopening businesses across the Commonwealth and provided guidelines for all business sectors to follow.  

Phase 1 is currently scheduled to take effect at 12:00 am Friday, May 15, 2020. Businesses should read carefully the order and guidelines to ensure compliance with all requirements for their respective industries.

More information about specific business sectors can be found on the Forward Virginia web page.

Regardless of industry, businesses should continue to do all they can to minimize the spread of COVID-19 by following best practices such as:

• Physical Distancing: Require employees, vendors and customers to adhere to physical distancing guidelines,
• Face Coverings: Ask employees, vendors and customers to use face masks where possible,
• Telework: Encourage teleworking where possible,
• Occupancy: Limit the number of persons in a space to allow for appropriate physical distancing,
• Enhanced Cleaning: Routinely clean and disinfect high-contact areas and surfaces,
• Hand Sanitization: Provide hand sanitizer stations and supplies for use by employees, vendors and customers.

These best practices are provided simply as reminders and not as substitutes for the Governor’s guidelines, which should be followed carefully to ensure compliance and increase safety.

Helping Businesses Prepare for Recovery

The Virginia SBDC has designed a landing page with resources for reopening and recovering for small businesses across the state.

As businesses begin to look at reopening and/or planning to transition to the ’new normal,’ there are a number of factors to consider and decisions to be made. The Virginia SBDC can help determine your next steps, no matter what stage of recovery you are in.