Restaurant customers in the United States are more optimistic about the industry's recovery from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic than are customers in other parts of the world. That's a key finding in a survey by Revenue Management Solutions, a restaurant data analytics and consulting company in Tampa. RMS polled about 1,800 potential restaurant customers in five countries (United States, Singapore, South Korea, United Kingdom and Taiwan) hit hard by the pandemic. Over half of the respondents in the U.S. — 54 percent — believe the industry will recover within one to six months, with similar findings in South Korea and Taiwan. In the United Kingdom, 43 percent believe the industry will recover within six to 12 months; in Singapore, that number drops to 39 percent of respondents who believe recovery will happen in six to 12 months. Seventy-five percent of all respondents trust that the restaurant industry is able to safely produce and deliver meals, the survey found. Key factors customers will consider are employee hygiene, reputation and level of contact.
Layoffs in Florida's key leisure and hospitality sector spiked in March and were a key factor in the state's 4.3 percent March unemployment rate, a new report from Wells Fargo Securities said. The unemployment rate increased from 2.8 percent in February. Shutdowns and stay-at-home orders needed to contain the Covid-19 outbreak caused the leisure and hospitality sector to eliminate 38,600 jobs during March, as restaurants, bars and amusement parks closed and hotels reduced staff. More than 650,000 initial unemployment claims have been filed over the past four weeks in Florida, so unemployment is expect to rise again in April, Wells Fargo said. "While the number of job losses will be reminiscent of what was seen in the Great Recession, the composition will be substantially different. Housing is not overbuilt today in Florida or around country, although demand is certain to soften in the very near term. Construction payrolls, which plummeted 52 percent during the last recession, should fall only a fraction of that amount in the current downturn. Moreover, Florida has made considerable progress diversifying its economy into higher growth and less cyclical industries, including aerospace and technology," Wells Fargo said.
Florida has received more than $4.1 billion in federal relief under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to help the state respond to and recover from Covid-19. It's half of Florida’s total allocation under the CARES Act, with an additional disbursement of funds later this month, a news release from Gov. Ron DeSantis said.
The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the 33772 ZIP code in Seminole jumped from 24 to 36 today. That's the ZIP code that includes Freedom Square of Seminole, a retirement community that has seen an outbreak of the illness, according to media reports. [UPDATE: on April 18, there was another big increase and the 33772 ZIP code now has 42 reported cases, the most of any ZIP code in Pinellas County.) Another Pinellas County ZIP code with a significant increase was 33710, where Covid-19 cases jumped from 13 to 17. Two ZIP codes, 33763 and 33709, previously were listed as having 5 to 9 cases. Today, 33763 has 10 cases and 33709 has 11 cases. Check out your ZIP code in our interactive map here.
The Tampa Bay Rays have detailed a series of actions the organization has taken to help the community fight the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Rays Baseball Foundation awarded grants to 13 community partners to support programming focused on the crisis, including hunger relief, health and wellness, shelter and youth programming. The Rays Community Fund Grant program separately awarded 24 grants to non-profits that are providing various kinds of community support. The Rays Baseball Foundation and Rowdies Soccer Fund are donating up to $250,000 to Feeding Tampa Bay. Those two groups, along with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, contributed $100,000 to the Relief Now, Rise Together Fund for residents and small businesses in Tampa. For more details on the groups funded and how to apply for assistance, click here.
The Hillsborough County Emergency Policy Group said it will recommend, but not require, face coverings to prevent the spread of Covid-19 coronavirus. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor had proposed requiring Hillsborough residents to wear masks when conducting essential business, but the idea never came to a vote Thursday afternoon, after six of the eight members on the emergency policy group said they could not support a mandate for face coverings. Hillsborough County Commissioner Kimberly Overman offered an alternative, recommending essential service employers ensure their workers are wearing face coverings if they cannot maintain a six-foot distance from the public and from their co-workers. That motion failed 2 to 6, with only Overman and Castor voting for it. Commissioner Les Miller, who chairs the emergency policy group, asked the county's communications teams to resend earlier communications, strongly urging wearing a face covering in public.
The Hillsborough County Emergency Policy Group voted unanimously to rescind a curfew it had put in place earlier this week to control the spread of Covid-19. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister called the curfew redundant and confusing because all of Florida remains under a Stay at Home order. Several other members of the policy group said they acted too hastily in approving the curfew. County Commissioner Les Miller, who heads the Emergency Policy Group, said he had proposed the curfew because he wanted to save lives in the county. While Hillsborough County has not seen the level of cases that New York and other communities have experienced, "that does not mean it will not happen," Miller said, citing projections that show Covid-19 cases will not peak until late April or early May in Florida. After the debate, Miller joined other members of the group in voting to rescind the curfew.
City Development Administrator Alan DeLisle and St. Pete Greenhouse Manager Jessica Eilerman updated St. Petersburg City Council Thursday regarding the City's Fighting Chance Fund. Per the report, the City has received 2,224 applications. Of those applications, 913 were businesses applications. Of those 913 business applications, 516 are under review and 46 have been approved. To date, 1,311 individual applications have been received, of which 721 have been processed and 261 approved. So far, the Fighting Chance Fund has distributed $130,000.
The number of Floridians filing for unemployment insurance for the first time continues to grow amid the Covid-19 virus pandemic. For the week ended April 11, 181,293 people in Florida filed initial claims, the U.S. Department of Labor said. That was an increase of 11,408 people from the prior week. Over the past four weeks, 652,199 Floridians have filed first-time unemployment claims, Labor Department numbers show. However, there have been widely reported problems with the state's system for filing unemployment claims, suggesting the jobless number may be higher than official statistics indicate. Nationally, 22 million jobless claims have been filed in the last four weeks, including 5.2 million Americans who filed first-time claims in the week ended April 11. The national unemployment rate for April is expected to exceed 15 percent, when it is released on May 8, according to a report from Wells Fargo Securities. "The peak of new claims appears to have passed, meaning focus will now shift to the duration of unemployment," the Wells Fargo report said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he is assembling a task force that will focus on the state’s next steps in the Covid-19 pandemic. “The president has talked about reopening the country and some governors in the northeast and the west have talked about the next phase. It’s prudent to start thinking about and planning for people to get back to work and society to function in a healthier way,” DeSantis said during a Wednesday afternoon news conference. He said the task force will address the “resurgence and reopening” of Florida, spanning a wide range of economic sectors. He cited small business, agriculture, restaurants, tourism, large events and conventions, recreation, international travel and education, as well as employer access to Covid-19 testing. DeSantis wants to tap elected officials, people in business and in education for the task force. He said he hopes to release the names of task force members by the end of the week.
Tampa Bay Wave is launching the Rising Tide Relief Fund for technology startups that are members of Wave and struggling during the Covid-19 pandemic. The goal is to offer short-term, near-zero interest loans for quick cash infusions with minimal paperwork, Wave said. The loans are intended to help the businesses retain and pay their employees, stay current on their rent, and cover other fixed costs while they await state and federal funding. The loans will be made available on a rolling basis until funds are depleted. Applicants must be current members of Tampa Bay Wave and be headquartered in the Tampa Bay region, or relocating its headquarters by end of the year. Additional criteria and a link to make a donation is here. Tampa Bay Wave, based in downtown Tampa, is a nonprofit that houses and services young and growing technology companies.
The Glazer family, owners of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, have donated $100,000 to the City's Fighting Chance Fund, which provides grants to help locally owned and independently operated small businesses that hav been hurt by Covid-19 orders. The fund "provides the critical resources that so many small business owners in the area need at a time like this," said Darcy Glazer Kassewitz, co-owner of the Bucs. The Glazer's gift is the third six-figure donation that's been announced publicly, following $100,000 donations from the Vinik Family Foundation and the Milkey Family Foundation. About $6.8 million in city funds was used to pay for the first phase of the fund, and the city has been soliciting contributions for future grants. Eligibility requirements and application information can be found here. To contribute, click here.
