COVID-19

Small businesses that need help making payroll amid the COVID-19 crisis can begin applying today for federally backed loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety on Monday closed its Public Service Center lobby to the public due to concerns over COVID-19.

Banks and small businesses reported an overwhelming volume of calls and some confusion Friday as the Small Business Administration launched the first phase of the $2 trillion economic stimulus package in the face of COVID-19.

Low-income parents who work in health care, public health and essential government services that are still operating amid the COVID-19 pandemic can qualify for free child care under a new program that Gov. Doug Ducey announced on Friday.

Barber shops, hair salons, day spas and tattoo parlors will all have to close for business by 5 p.m. Saturday after Gov. Doug Ducey reversed course and updated his list of essential services that can stay open during the COVID-19 emergency.

Arizona is lacking hospital space and intensive care beds as the state grapples with COVID-19, and it also is among the worst in the country for the number of health care workers available to treat those who fall ill.

A confluence of circumstances is making it extremely difficult for many candidates to collect the signatures they need in order to get their names on the ballot amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, and those running for county, municipal and other local offices, there’s an additional obstacle in the way – the inability to collect signatures online.

The state is adding $600 to the maximum weekly unemployment benefit of $240, and the first checks should go out as soon as next week, the Arizona Department of Economic Security said Wednesday. The money was added in response to the tidal wave of workers laid off because of COVID-19, with new claims rising to almost 3.3 million in the U.S. two weeks ago.

More than a week after Gov. Doug Ducey announced the launch of a nonprofit Coronavirus Relief Fund and website to provide resources to people affected by COVID-19 and be a vehicle for online fundraising, it is unknown who will be making decisions about that money, how much has been raised and how it will be spent.

As his administration came under fire for its handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, President Donald Trump last week invoked an obscure Korean War-era law to force General Motors to manufacture ventilators that could save patients’ lives.