COVID-19: Public Pools, State Action and Federal Updates

The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance continues to keep the industry well-informed on the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is the organization's latest press release on public pools, state action and recent federal updates.

PUBLIC POOLS

With states and localities closing down public aquatic facilities to patrons, it is imperative they are still maintained during closure to the public.

Use the Maintaining Public Aquatic Facilities flyer to educate facility operators, government agencies and others as to why it is critical to keep their facility maintained during closure.

Be sure to bookmark PHTACoronaUpdate.com for the most up-to-date information. If you have any questions, please reach out to [email protected].

EXCLUSIONS

We know that we've given you a lot of information to digest this week, so we prepared an at-a-glance chart to guide you through the exclusions in your state.

STATE EXCLUSION CHART

We are noticing that most Orders exclude construction work, as well as skilled trades, such as electrical and plumbing. (NOTE: In some states, pool contractors are licensed under “plumbing.”)

Additionally, most Orders contain exceptions for maintenance and sanitization of residences, as well as business facilities that are allowed to remain open.

Some states specifically exempt chemical manufacturing and a number of states exempt distribution and warehousing.

Where retail closures have been ordered, exemptions have often been established for “hardware” and/or “home improvement,” as well as for retail necessary to support other essential infrastructure or services, such as sanitization, or contractors.

To view more detail about these exclusions, please visit PHTACoronaUpdate.com.

FEDERAL UPDATE

House Passes Phase Three Bill, Next Stop President's Desk for Signature
Earlier this afternoon, the House approved the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Phase Three relief package to aid individuals, families, small and large businesses, hospitals and health care providers, and more. This legislation was signed into law by the President this afternoon.

In total, Congress has now completed three rounds of emergency legislation to respond to the Coronavirus pandemic and mitigate the economic crisis.

Phase One is the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, Public Law 116-123, which provided $8.3 billion for immediate health system needs for coronavirus response and treatment.

Phase Two is the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Public Law 116-127, which provided about $100 billion and included additional health care system response provisions, as well as food assistance, and sick and medical leave for American workers.

Phase Three is the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, H.R. 748, which provided $2.2 trillion, the largest emergency spending and economic rescue package in the history of the U.S. The CARES Act includes expanded unemployment insurance, direct payments to individual and families, significant resources for hospitals and health care providers, emergency assistance to small and large businesses in the form of direct access to loans and capital as well as tax relief, provisions for student loan forbearance as well as aid to education systems, state, county, and local governments.

President Trump's Letter to Governors on Coronavirus Guidance
President Trump, in a letter yesterday to the nation's Governors, said that his administration will publish new "social distancing" guidelines for state and local governments to mitigate the coronavirus crisis. The letter is the subject of a great deal of attention to discern its impact on existing and potentially new orders by States to shelter in place and to restrict a broad range of business and personal activity.

To provide guidance and help you and your company navigate COVID-19, make sure to visit PHTACoronaUpdate.com.

If you have any questions, please reach out to [email protected].