Displaying items tagged: COVID19

GRAND RAPIDS — Mercantile Bank Corp. ended 2020 with higher quarterly earnings despite the ongoing costs and economic turbulence from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Michigan Economic Development Corp. plans to open applications next week for the $58.5 million in grant funding to aid small businesses and entertainment venues that were closed or curtailed by the most recent state-ordered restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

GRAND RAPIDS — Events are planned to slowly return to Grand Rapids’ downtown venues with ramped up safety guidelines, starting with crowdless Grand Rapids Griffins games and Grand Rapids Symphony performances.

The U.S. Small Business Administration begins taking applications next week for the new round of forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans to aid small businesses ailing from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed two bills that would have had Michigan join other states in licensing compacts for nurses and psychologists.

GRAND RAPIDS — HealthBar, a Grand Rapids-based provider of customized health care services for businesses, has launched a new drive-thru COVID-19 testing site.

The state plans to hold another liquor buyback for bars and restaurants. A similar effort earlier this year by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) bought back $3.4 million in spirits from 673 liquor license holders, for an average of a little more than $5,000 per each bar and restaurant that was closed or had limited operations during the COVID-019 pandemic.

State and federal lawmakers have each reached consensus on COVID-19 relief that will support small businesses like restaurants and venues still confronting pandemic-related restrictions.

Final passage could come as early as Monday on a $465.1 million state aid package that would provide “survival” grants to ailing small businesses and entertainment venues that were closed or had their operations limited by state orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

More Michigan hospitals are now vaccinating health care workers as doses of the Pfizer Inc. vaccine arrive.

State leaders expressed cautious optimism on Tuesday as key metrics involving COVID-19 case trends, test positivity rates and hospitalizations are improving under recent emergency restrictions.

Additional mass closings and staff layoffs in the hospitality industry are expected without additional federal aid for businesses, according to recent surveys by national hotel and restaurant trade groups.

GRAND RAPIDS — Spectrum Health vaccinated its first medical staff today hours after receiving the first doses from Pfizer Inc., ushering in what President and CEO Tina Freese Decker called the “next chapter in our fight against COVID-19.”

The Michigan Economic Development Corp. announced Friday that it would soon start accepting applications for up to $15,000 relief grants from small businesses “disproportionately impacted” by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

The head of the Small Business Association of Michigan says he’s “cautiously optimistic” that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state legislators can agree on a bill that would allow businesses to defer property tax payments.

LANSING — State officials expect Michigan to receive nearly 260,000 initial doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc., based on federal estimates.

The Whitmer administration has extended restrictions on indoor dining and various indoor entertainment facilities for 12 more days to help curb the surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

Hospitals want Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to extend restrictions that are set to expire tomorrow night extended through the holiday season.

GRAND RAPIDS — The Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce is urging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and legislative leaders to enact assistance for businesses affected by the most recent state restrictions.

GRAND RAPIDS — Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital has temporarily added beds to ease pressure on other hospitals in the region that are stressed with a surge in COVID-19 patients.

LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer offered no new details Tuesday on whether the state’s three-week “pause” that has shuttered indoor dining and entertainment facilities will be extended beyond Dec. 8, though she expressed concern about rising cases and hospitalizations associated with holiday traveling.

The Michigan Strategic Fund has approved a $10 million COVID-19 relief grant program for small businesses that were harmed by recent state restrictions affecting restaurants and entertainment facilities.

GRAND RAPIDS — The production company behind more than a dozen consumer shows across Michigan has canceled three Grand Rapids events in early 2021 because of the risk of spreading COVID-19.

Municipal officials from across Michigan are calling on state lawmakers to pass bills they say would provide certainty and continuity in the face of revenue declines stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

GRAND RAPIDS — Founders Brewing Co. has temporarily laid off 89 employees as the bar, restaurant, entertainment and hospitality industries cope with recent health guidelines handed down by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

A West Michigan Republican state lawmaker is calling for a state law requiring masks in indoor spaces and crowded outdoor areas as COVID-19 cases surge and strain hospital capacity.

Michigan retailers are approaching the holiday shopping season with optimism and expectations for higher online sales, despite reporting lower sales for last month and new state restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two hundred and forty six days passed between Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s first stay-at-home order to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and new state restrictions scaling back and closing some businesses.  

GRAND RAPIDS — The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients that Spectrum Health is treating could surge far higher by early December if present infection rates continue unabated.

University of Michigan economists expect Congress to pass further federal stimulus packages during the lame-duck session and in early 2021 as pressure for relief mounts during a nationwide COVID-19 surge.