OPINION

Biede: Keep our community, local businesses healthy

Posted
By Roger Biede

The Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce is committed to be a community leader and advocate for our business community.

As the situation regarding responses and the community's efforts to prevent a larger challenge continue to evolve, the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce is committed to providing updates and connections to information that may impact your business, your employees and our community.

There have been a number requests for the Arizona legislature and governor to provide relief to small businesses, specific industries and the public sector such as schools, developmentally disabled providers and other safety net programs. As the leaders work through these requests, we’ll do our best to inform you of the possible outcomes and ideas gaining the most traction.

During this time please try to stay connected to your customers, whether by email or social media:

  • Create incentives for your audience to support you, they truly want to.
  • Rethink access to your business and services 100%.
  • Be capable to handle online orders.
  • Consider virtual shopping experiences with Facebook or Instagram Live.
  • Keep your messaging short and sweet.

Taking precautions

As we continue to learn about more confirmed cases of across the globe and in Arizona, we want to ensure that we’re following the recommendations set forth by the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The health and wellness of our members and our staff is critically important to us, so we want to provide the latest guidelines to all of you as you consider the precautions you and your team will take in the coming days.

Based on recommendations of the CDC, we are asking you the following questions:

  • Have you or someone in your household gone on a cruise or traveled to a country on the CDC’s Level 3 watch list in the last 30 days? At this time, these include China, Iran, Italy and South Korea. These may change. See the CDC’s guidelines for the most up-to-date list.
  • Have you been exposed to someone who has been diagnosed? See the CDC’s risk assessment guidance.
  • Do you have symptoms? Symptoms can include a fever, cough or shortness of breath. See the CDC’s symptom information.

If you answered “yes’ to any of those questions, we ask you not to attend any group gatherings.

If you answered “no,” we ask you to take the advice of the CDC, including:

  • Frequently and thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
  • Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash, or use your inner elbow or sleeve.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Stay home if you’re sick and keep your children home if they are sick.
  • Clean surfaces in your home and personal items, such as cell phones, using regular household products.
  • Consider an “elbow bump” instead of a hug or handshake.

Our goal is to minimize the impact on our community by looking to our public health experts for guidance. Here are some additional resources for your reference:

We hope to maintain business as usual as possible, but also want to ensure we’re aligning with best practices to do all we can to keep our community healthy.

Roger Biede
Executive director
Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce

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