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“I said a few weeks ago when we were on the first time I was mad as hell,” Carney said. “And then we’re off and I was happy. Then we’re back on and I’m mad as hell again. That just doesn’t make any sense, and it’s a distraction.”
With 68 new cases a day, Carney doesn’t think Delaware meets the criteria to be on this list.
“Our cutoff, oddly, for the quarantines in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut is 97. It’s beyond me why we’re back on that list,” he said. “Off, on the list one week, off the next, on the next, which obviously is an indication that that is not a measure that works.”
There are currently 35 states in the travel advisory list.
With coronavirus hospitalizations also trending down in Delaware, Carney doesn’t understand why his state has to be one of them.
“What’s frustrating is when we do get better and we end up on the list because of a data glitch, which is unacceptable,” he said.
Carney also announced Delaware’s relief grant program, which will give at least $100 million in CARES Act funding to more than 3,000 small businesses in the state.
“Delaware small businesses are the backbone of our economy and they have made considerable sacrifices during the COVID-19 crisis,” he said. “We owe them our gratitude and support.”
Damian DeStefano, Delaware’s director of the small business division, said he expects most businesses “will be eligible for at least $30,000 of funding.”
A qualifying business can receive up to $100,000 through the program.
“(It) will be based on their 2019 federal tax return reported revenue,” explained DeStefano. “A percentage of that will equate to the amount of the grant they can get.”
Small businesses can start applying next month.
“We’d recommend gathering up the following documents today,” said DeStefano. “You’re 2019 tax returns, any receipts for qualifying expenses. The program is based on reimbursement of expenses occurred due to COVID-19 or planned expenses due to COVID-19.”