Relief program for Chandler businesses set to restart amid surge in COVID-19 cases across Arizona

Chandler relaunches business relief program

Eligible businesses can receive up to $10,000.

CHANDLER, Ariz. - Amid the ongoing and worsening COVID-19 pandemic, one East Valley city is relaunching a relief program for businesses within its borders.

In all, there's millions of dollars in aid for Chandler businesses affected by the pandemic, and businesses that qualify can receive up to $10,000.

"All of the grants have helped," said Gavin Jacobs, who owns The Brickyard. "The PPP money has helped. Without it, we wouldn’t be here."

The city's relaunched "I Chose Chandler Business" hiring and retention program provides much-needed funds to businesses that have kept employees on payroll during the pandemic.

"Every little bit helps. The main focus through this pandemic and what’s been going on is retaining our employees. We have 17 employees here. We work hard together and we need those employees to make this business work," said Jacobs.

Jacobs received the first round of grant money, and he plans on applying again.

"As everybody knows, as income comes in and we use that income to make payroll, so that $10,000 for the grant, we still have that income coming in so that’s a benefit. We can keep things going and spread that out over two pay periods, and it gives us a little more cushion to allocate money to different areas where it’s needed, so, like I said, every tiny little bit helps," said Jacobs.

This second round of dollars is coming from the Arizona Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Fund, and about $5.5 million is available to help struggling businesses. During summer 2020, this program helped more than 540 small businesses.

"It hasn’t been easy, but we’ve been able to get through it," said Jacobs.

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COVID-19 symptoms

Symptoms for coronavirus COVID-19 include fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. These, of course, are similar to the common cold and flu.

Expect a common cold to start out with a sore or scratchy throat, cough, runny and/or stuffy nose. Flu symptoms are more intense and usually come on suddenly, and can include a high fever.

Symptoms of COVID-19 may appear more slowly. They usually include fever, a dry cough and noticeable shortness of breath, according to the World Health Organization. A minority of cases develop pneumonia, and the disease is especially worrisome for the elderly and those with other medical problems such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes or heart conditions.