Mendocino officials and West Company holding live online workshop to help businesses affected by COVID-19 closures tonight

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MENDOCINO Co., 3/19/20 — Mendocino County residents have been ordered to shelter in place until at least April 7, and though some business considered essential are open and others are scrambling to find ways to stay operational within the law, many residents are wondering just what this pandemic will mean for their jobs and the local economy. Tonight, Mendocino County’s Interim Public Health Officer Dr. Noemi Doohan, County CEO Carmel Angelo, and West Company are holding a live video workshop to address how COVID-19 and this shut-down are impacting local businesses, and what resources are available to help now.

The workshop will include information about resources that business owners and workers can apply for to assist with the financial challenges caused by the pandemic, and will take place at 6:30 p.m. on the county’s YouTube page. Small business loans, unemployment benefits, paid family leave, and more are available right now to help, and more financial assistance may be available over the next several weeks.

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If you need immediate assistance, one place to start is to look at benefits offered by the state of California EDD, which has expedited payments and extended benefits due to COVID-19, including paid family leave, additional unemployment, online disability claims, and more. There’s also additional state info for employers and workers.

We want to hear from you about how this is impacting our economy, so if you have questions, get in touch with us any time.

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The video can be watched at this link to Mendocino County’s YouTube Channel, beginning at 6:30 p.m. West Company will also be holding additional free video workshops next week to help business owners dealing with closures or other challenges due to COVID-19.

Here’s the announcement from the county: