The U.S. Small Business Administration has reopened the Paycheck Protection Program for business loans.
According to an SBA announcement, the program is reopening this week for new borrowers and some existing borrowers.
Initially, only community financial institutions will be able to borrow money on Monday and Wednesday, and after that, all participating lenders will be allowed.
According to the announcement, up to $284 billion will go toward job retention and other expenses through March 31. Some existing PPP borrowers will be able to apply for a second draw PPP loan.
Key PPP updates include: • PPP borrowers can set their PPP loan’s covered period to be any length between 8 and 24 weeks to best meet their business needs; • PPP loans will cover additional expenses, including operations expenditures, property damage costs, supplier costs, and worker protection expenditures; • The program’s eligibility is expanded to include 501(c)(6)s, housing cooperatives, destination marketing organizations, among other types of organizations; • The PPP provides greater flexibility for seasonal employees; • Certain existing PPP borrowers can request to modify their first draw PPP Loan amount; and • Certain existing PPP borrowers are now eligible to apply for a second draw PPP Loan.
A borrower is generally eligible for a second draw PPP loan if the borrower: • Previously received a first draw PPP loan and will or has used the full amount only for authorized uses; • Has no more than 300 employees; and • Can demonstrate at least a 25% reduction in gross receipts between comparable quarters in 2019 and 2020.
Temperatures will gradually trend upward, reaching a high near 52 Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Dry conditions will continue through Wednesday, the weather service said.
Light rains return to the forecast Thursday night into Friday morning, according to the weather service. No major impacts to travel are expected.
Today, it will be sunny, with a high near 52 and a southwest wind of 6 to 9 mph, the weather service said.
Tonight, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 30 and a southwest wind of 6 to 8 mph, according to the weather service.
Wednesday, it will be sunny with a high near 69 and a south southwest wind of 7 to 13 mph, gusting as high as 21 mph, the weather service said.
Wednesday night, there will be increasing clouds, with a low of 37 and a south southwest wind of 9 to 11 mph, gusting as high as 20 mph, according to the weather service.
Thursday, there will be a 20 percent chance of rain, with a high near 48, the weather service said. A northwest wind of 11 to 17 mph may gust as high as 29 mph.
Thursday night, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 30, according to the weather service.
Friday, it will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 38, and winds will be breezy.
Friday night, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 24, according to the weather service.
Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 37, the weather service said.
Saturday night, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 24, according to the weather service.
Sunday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 42, the weather service said.
Sunday night, it will be partly cloudy, with a low of 26, according to the weather service.
On Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 45, the weather service said.
The University of Kansas Health System is offering a new clinic for long-haulers, those patients who have had COVID-19 symptoms for weeks or months.
The clinic will bring together specialists from different areas to work together with recovering COVID-19 patients, according to Dr. Branden Comfort, internal medicine. Among the specialties that will be represented are pulmonary, cardiology, neurology, psychology, rehab, social work and physical medicine.
Dr. Comfort said there are patients coming in every day who have long-term persistent symptoms of COVID-19. Some of those symptoms might include fatigue, coughs, shortness of breath, joint pains, chest pain, brain fog and others.
Dr. Comfort talked about the clinic at the Monday morning media update at the KU Health System. The clinic is not a building by itself, but rather a group of people coordinating and working together.
Those who have had symptoms for at least 12 weeks can participate in the clinic, according to Dr. Comfort. Services will be available for as long as needed. Primary care doctors will help connect patients to the right specialists, he said.
Casey Pickering, intensive care unit nurse manager, said last March, they never thought that they would still be doing critical care triage for COVID-19 patients today. Pickering helped put together their triage area in March, and she talked about how it was different than other ICUs.
One difference is there aren’t family visits for COVID-19 patients, and that means that staff become like families to the patients, helping them celebrate their birthdays and communicating remotely with families. The end-of-life issues are more difficult to deal with remotely.
Health care workers may experience post-traumatic stress from the higher number of deaths with COVID-19 patients. Pickering said people should check in with health care providers to see how they’re doing.
COVID-19 case numbers
Case numbers saw a drop on Monday morning, with 66 active COVID-19 patients in the hospital, a decrease of five since Friday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. There were 23 patients in the ICU, no change from Friday, and 14 on ventilators Monday morning, a decrease of one since Friday. In addition, 56 other patients were still in the hospital but out of the acute phase, a decrease of 14 since Friday. There was a total of 122 COVID-19 patients at KU Health System, a decrease of 19 since Friday.
Wyandotte County reported an increase of 61 COVID-19 cases on Monday, Jan. 11, according to the Unified Government’s COVID-19 webpage. There were a cumulative 15,627 cases. There were four additional deaths reported Monday, for a cumulative total of 208.
The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID-19 dashboard reported 134,564 cumulative COVID-19 cases on Monday. There were 1,609 deaths, and 157 was the daily average of new hospitalizations.
The state of Kansas reported a total cumulative 247,502 COVID-19 cases on Monday, an increase of 5,180 cases since Friday, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. There was a total of 3,255 deaths.
The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Monday reported 22,618,066 total cumulative cases in the United States, with 376,060 total deaths nationwide.
Free COVID-19 testing available Tuesday
The Unified Government Health Department’s COVID-19 test site at the former Kmart building at 78th and State will be open on Tuesday, Jan. 12, with testing from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tests are free for those who live or work in Wyandotte County. The tests are nasopharyngeal swab tests. The Health Department no longer uses saliva tests.
The tests now are open to asymptomatic people as well as those who have symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19. Check with the UG Health Department’s Facebook page to see if there have been any changes in the schedule. Bring something that shows that you live or work in Wyandotte County, such as a utility bill.
COVID-19 tests will be available from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Pierson Community Center parking lot, 1800 S. 55th St., Kansas City, Kansas. Hours are subject to change depending on the weather and other factors. These tests are through WellHealth Management. For more information and to schedule a test, visit www.GoGetTested.com/Kansas.
Cards and letters of encouragement for caregivers at KU Health System may be sent to Share Joy, care of Patient Relations, 4000 Cambridge St., Mailstop 1021, Kansas City, Kansas, 66160. Emails can be sent to [email protected].
