For a number of months now, the world has been faced with a natural disaster. While 90% of the time when the U.S. president declares a national disaster they are talking about flooding, this crisis is different. As you well know, we have been dealing with a highly infectious and often deadly disease.
In most countries, the only way to stop health infrastructure from being completely overwhelmed has been to halt most inessential activity, crippling economies and negatively impacting mental health. Life as we know has been completely transformed. Activities that were once seen as normal and mundane — going into the office to work, going bowling with friends, going on vacation — now seem like figments of a bygone era.
The shutdowns across the globe have had both a human and an economic toll. Typically, a great deal of downtime in sectors such as manufacturing is from factors like human error or disruptions to the supply chain. Now, however, many plants are having to close due to concerns over transmission of the novel coronavirus. In April, for example, we were seeing this in many meat processing factories across the country.
Starting March 17th 2020, the city of Rochester went into total shutdown. Only essential businesses, such as grocery stores and pharmacies, remained open. It was a period of stress and uncertainty for most people throughout the country, as everyone had no idea when life might start to regain some semblance of normalcy.
Then, on May 15th, we had our first step toward a return to normal life as the process of reopening Rochester began.
Phase One
The Capital Region, Central NY, the Finger Lakes region, Long Island, the Mid-Hudson Valley, Mohawk Valley, North Country, Southern Tier, and Western NY have all entered phase one of reopening according to an official state website. This means that the following industries have been allowed to reopen:
- Construction
- Agriculture
- Forestry
- Hunting
- Retail – (Limited to curbside or in-store pickup or drop off)
- Manufacturing
- Wholesale Trade
Phase Two
Phase two of reopening Rochester includes allowing some retail stores to reopen to in-person customers, with a number of important stipulations. The Democrat and Chronicle reports that, according to Governor Cuomo’s office:
- Unless they are medically unable to do so, all customers must wear masks
- Stores can’t exceed half their possible occupancy
- Curbside pickup is encouraged whenever possible
- Stores in malls cannot reopen unless they have an external entrance
- In-store foot traffic must be controlled with signs and markers
Tried to cut your own hair and don’t like how it came out? Good news — hair salons are reopening in phase two. However, this is only for haircuts or color and styling appointments. No beard trimming, eyebrow threading/tweezing/waxing, nail care, facials, etc. are permitted.
These are tough times for everyone, and for small business owners in particular. While in 2014 80% of small businesses managed to make it to the next year, the outlook is much more bleak for small businesses in 2020. This economic toll has left many people understandably frustrated. However, it’s essential that we reopen the country to economic activity in a slow, controlled, responsible manner.
The process of reopening Rochester is underway, but it is going to happen very gradually. In the meantime, we all need to keep supporting our local businesses in any way we can.
