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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce held a virtual event on October 29 related to how businesses and local leaders can help combat the spread of COVID-19 while allowing economic recovery to begin. An agenda can be found here.

The HillCo report below is a summary of remarks intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics discussed. This report is not a verbatim transcript; it is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.

Introduction and Purpose

Michelle Russo, Chief Communications Officer for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

  • False choice between keeping America safe and healthy, and keeping America open
  • We know much more about the virus and have a better-defined playbook than we did last March, when much was uncertain
  • Now we know we can do something about it with “lessons learned and collective action”
  • We cannot accept an inevitable 200k additional deaths and 100k businesses closed for good
  • Hallmark of leadership is adapting to challenges and rising to the challenge
  • We do not need a crystal ball to contain the virus, but we need to share best practices and drive meaningful action
  • Collective action can make a difference

Learning from Abroad

Marjorie Chorlins, Senior VP for European Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Executive Director of the US-UK Business Council

  • Alarming headlines from Europe right now
  • “Draconian” measures – regional efforts quickly became nationwide lockdowns Italy and Spain were first. Occurred in Q1/2
  • In Q2/3, European governments began loosening restrictions due to business pressure and confidence in “flattening the curve”
  • Experts were hesitant – even small upticks in cases in the summer will lead to exponential growth. Countries did not pay attention, now Europe having 2nd spike while US is in 3rd wave
  • Many countries in Europe now reinstating restrictions and lockdowns
  • Ireland and U.K. implementing tiered systems to respond to virus spikes
  • Spain and Italy reopened with poor results – large spikes now
  • Germany received praise for handling of first wave, and is now implementing a new country-wide lockdown
  • France reopened with huge spikes; now nationwide lockdown due to #1 cases in Europe
  • These six countries (Ireland, UK, Spain, Italy, Germany, France) account for ~328 million people, approximately the population of the United States. Together, they account for less than half the US’s case count and only Âľ the number of deaths
  • Key lessons: Mandating masks is key and a unifying theme. Meaningful enforcement is key
  • Effective national testing and tracing strategy key
  • Key leaders’ messaging on the virus is important – those who honestly characterize risks receive more goodwill
  • Coordination between state and federal authorities is critical
  • Lockdowns are not inevitable, but may be unavoidable if population becomes complacent with the virus
  • Europe has taught us that the virus thrives on complacency – heed the lessons

Charting the Path Forward

Pre-recorded video with messages from Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Angela Hewitt, Rossan Williams, and Dr. Jerome Adams

  • Message emphasizes the importance of wearing masks, washing hands, and social distancing when reopening businesses and the economy to avoid transmission of the virus

Resilience and Adaptation in a Time of Crisis

Sabrina Fang, Senior Director of Media Relations at U.S. Chamber of Commerce

  • Chamber created a new series titled “Path Forward” to give businesses advice about reopening safely

Suzanne Clark, President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

  • Fang: “Path Forward” has been driving business reopening and best practices. As host, tell us more about it and the key takeaways
  • Clark: No precedent for this situation. We have a responsibility to help businesses adapt and have a path forward. Brought on doctors and scientists and experts to put that information in the hands of business leaders
  • Fang: Will we have to shut down again this winter?
  • Clark: We should not have to due to the information we’ve learned: testing, masks, tracing, social distancing, are all important. Any lockdowns we hope will be short and targeted. We need to get serious on following guidance and protecting our communities.
  • Fang: What are businesses roles in keeping the economy open and preventing another shutdown?
  • Clark: Businesses have to lead the way on safe practices: let non-essential workers work from home, add ventilation/filtration systems to spaces, PPE, social distancing, cleaning strategies, only bring back essential workers, etc. Businesses can also help customers and employees feel safe by modeling mask wearing, distancing, showing cleaning occurring, provide hand sanitizer, etc. Businesses need to instill confidence in communities
  • Fang: After speaking with health experts on the twin threats of COVID and Flu, what are some things business owners need to keep in mind?
  • Clark: Beyond flu shots being important, the shot reminds people that vaccines are safe and healthy, raising rates of COVID vaccine usage when it becomes available. Flu and COVID symptoms look very similar, so medical providers can easily determine COVID vs Flu if you have a flu shot. Research also indicates people who have COVID and Flu together are 2x likely to die.
  • Fang: Where can people go to get more information about Path Forward?
  • Clark: On YouTube, on U.S. Chamber website
  • Fang: Why are you optimistic about the future despite uncertainty?
  • Clark: I don’t want to underplay how scary this virus is and the losses associated with this. However, every expert interviewed has been optimistic about the US getting to the other side of the crisis. Watching the experts, it’s truly an unprecedented collaboration between the government, science, academia, and the private sector.

STOP: Smart Tactics on Prevention

Carolyn Cawley, President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Steve Anderson, President & CEO, National Association of Chain Drug Stores

  • Cawley: Anderson represents more than 40K drugstores and 150K pharmacists, critical frontline workers. Flu shots are critical this year
  • Cawley: What is the role of pharmacies and pharmacists in distributing flu shots?
  • Anderson: Vital to work together on this. Last flu season, there were 67,000 people dead and more than 500K hospitalizations. Hospitals will be overwhelmed with another COVID wave and Flu. If we want to reopen the economy, we must unite and work together
  • Cawley: Amidst talk of measures we can all take, are people understanding that the flu shot is among the top issues need to get done?
  • Anderson: We can really work to get this information out more. 90% of Americans know about masks and social distancing, but only 67% of Americans believe getting a flu shot is important. We are seeing more people getting flu shots this year, 30-50% increases from last year
  • Cawley: People rank the flu shot not as highly among other critical issues. We have never hit the 70% targeted rate for percent of population to get the flu vaccine. What are pharmacies doing to get more people in to get the flu shot?
  • Anderson: We are seeing a change in attitude this year over previous years. False information was one reason people didn’t get vaccinated, but now more information and advertising is being spread throughout the US to increase vaccines for the Flu. Grassroots efforts are also critical to get the word out both about the flu and COVID vaccines, when they are available
  • Cawley: What does your research find when it comes to persuading people about the vaccine for flu
  • Anderson: Those who are not convinced either way tend to be in lower socioeconomic standing and have less education, but stressing local issues (especially the economy) can convince them to get the shot
  • Cawley: What are a couple of things Chamber leaders can do right away to encourage flu vaccines?
  • Anderson: partner with the Association and US Chamber to spread the word about flu vaccine and why it’s critical to get it. This is the foundation for the COVID vaccine going forward.

Effective Strategies at the State and Local Level

Glenn Hamer, President & CEO, Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry

  • Local officials have had to re-write the playbook to adapt to local changes and challenges
  • Panel to answer questions and address best practices for local government to address impact of COVID

Stephen Benjamin, Mayor, Columbia, South Carolina

Jennifer Daniels, Former Mayor of Gilbert, Arizona, and Director for Horizon Strategies

  • Hamer: Once you both realized that the pandemic would be impacting your communities, what were your thoughts/strategies?
    • Benjamin: The last week of February, we knew there was something coming, and that we needed a task force to help us prepare for cases. The task force represented intersections of private, public, and scientific representatives to help create a plan for addressing the coming crisis. We can do it, but it’s going to take more collaboration and leadership at all levels
    • Daniels: There were so many unknowns 7 months ago, and our community adopted the mantra of “do the next right thing with the information we had” – these were judgement calls made with the best information available. We also created a task force to make sure we understood the steps we could take to address the crisis. We were able to learn from the East coast cities to help us prepare for COVID
  • Hamer: Technology, data, and science have been key in addressing the pandemic. What are some tools you’ve found helpful in addressing the pandemic and creating your response?
    • Daniels: Communication is the first and most important tool. Communication with health experts, private sector, faith groups, etc is essential. Data and data analytics from state/county level is also key to provide essential information about the spread of the virus. Social media is also a key and quick manner to communicate with and provide transparency to the public from the leadership in government.
    • Benjamin: Frequent and predictable communication is and will be essential. The power of the unknown is challenging but working together will allow us to overcome lack of knowledge. Early testing and local partnerships provide great data to best inform public policy decisions. Most importantly, by constantly communicating, you establish a relationship with your community to help individuals understand the importance of the data and the economic and public health crises.
  • Hamer: The Health crisis has triggered an economic crisis. What are some programs you have advocated for to help businesses, specifically small businesses?
    • Benjamin: Some policies addressed everyone, including social distancing and mask mandates, but we also came up with an economic sustainability plan. We were financially prepared to implement a stimulus package for small businesses required to close either by ordinance or pragmatics, including forgivable loans and grants. We also emphasized the importance of critical nonprofits like Meals on Wheels and supported those groups and their critical work.
    • Daniels: There were multiple layers available for businesses, including federal, state, and local dollars. We quickly developed a workforce retooling program to help workers who lost their jobs to retrain for new jobs needed in the workforce. Worked for job placement for many individuals. We also implemented a similar grant program, providing funds for small businesses that suffered without tourism and sustained revenues lost due to COVID.

Hamer welcomes Neil Bradley, Executive VP and Chief Policy Officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to lead audience Q&A

  • Bradley: How do we help businesses and leaders address differences in opinion regarding mask wearing, social distancing, and other measures to combat the virus?
    • Daniels: It’s a delicate balance especially given the current election cycle and closures of communities. Our community had a mask mandate, with exceptions for those with medical conditions. Businesses were grateful for the mandate because it was a uniform decision for all businesses. Also created a mask campaign and have businesses tools to help spread information about masks being critical to tone down dissent and make the conversation more constructive. Make it a community effort, not an “edict from on high”
    • Benjamin: Many businesses didn’t want to be put in the spotlight by being forced to require masks, so city mandates took the pressure off of businesses and placed it on the city, which helped business community relations. We used data and evidence to support our decisions and provided businesses with consistent messaging and branding on masks to similarly defuse the controversy.
  • Bradley: As chamber leaders, what responsibilities do we have to work with mayors, governors, etc?
    • Hamer: We need to support Mayors in reopening safely. Supporting best practices, like mask mandates, is important, as well as supporting Mayors that are supporting those best practices
  • Bradley: One of the great fears is complacency with COVID. How are you thinking about combating pandemic fatigue and sustaining public health efforts?
    • Benjamin: It is critical to redouble efforts now. Business leaders have outsized influence on their communities and can make change happen. We have work left to do, including maintaining these public health practices and stepping up our attention to strategies that work. Working with other levels of government and organizations is going to continue to be critical. We must sustain our current policies to prevent worse economic and public health crises.
  • Bradley: How can we help businesses with their testing regimes? Are there partnerships to be made to help businesses uniquely address the pandemic?
    • Daniels: Leaders must bring the energy to the table and infuse communities with that energy to continue staying on top of safety guidelines. When it comes to partnerships, it is critical to have continuous communication and open dialogue. Feedback to public officials will help inform policy and allow community members to understand the situation and reasoning behind policies and strategies. It is difficult to build a trusted relationship in a crisis, but it is possible with communication. Newly elected officials need feedback and communication to make the best decisions for communities.
  • Bradley: closing remarks and thanks for joining the call. Brief discussion of masks effectiveness in combating spread. Emphasized critical nature of flu shots, and the importance of learning from Europe’s handling of the virus. Everyone should plan ahead.