Coronavirus: MA Seeks Federal Disaster Loans For Small Businesses

BOSTON — With all gatherings over 25 limited and restaurants restricted to take-out and delivery, Massachusetts is gearing up to help small businesses get federal loans to ride out the coronavirus outbreak. The federal Economic Injury Disaster Loan program provides $2 million loans to small businesses and nonprofits, to help them survive until the worst of the outbreak has passed.

The state is asking small businesses to estimate the impact on their operations, to show the virus is hitting hard enough for the state to qualify. Once the program is activated, businesses will be contacted to apply for loans. The full state announcement is available here.

The federal Small Business Administration announced Thursday it would provide activate the program. It's often used in response of natural disasters like storms, flooding and fires. Economic disaster loans have interest rates of 2.75 to 3.75 percent and repayment periods as long as thirty years.

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Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.