** UPDATED: Tuesday, March 17, 2020 at 11:30am **
Dear Waldo businesses, community members and stakeholders,
Here in Waldo, the safety and wellbeing of our community is the top priority for the Waldo Area Business Association (WABA) and the Waldo CID. In light of our mission — to serve as champions of our community while preserving and advancing our vibrant, inclusive culture — we are closely monitoring the COVID-19 Coronavirus landscape. We are working diligently to ensure the health and safety of our Waldo community comes first. With that said, we will be closing our Waldo office so that our staff can safely work from home for the time being. Our Waldo security team is still available for all of your immediate needs and we can always be reached by ☎️ at our regular office line: 816-286-4523 or 📧 at info@waldokc.org.
If you own or work at a Waldo-area business, we’re here to help. We understand the challenges that lie ahead, and we recommend the CDC website as an excellent resource for information about protecting yourself, your patrons and mitigating the spread of Coronavirus.
Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas Thursday March 12, 2020, issued a proclamation declaring a state of emergency for the city. The state of emergency has been declared for 21 days, and during that time, all events with more than 1,000 attendees within the city are canceled or delayed.
** Current recommendations:
In accordance with the latest CDC guidance announced by President Trump, Mayor Lucas has updated his State of Emergency proclamation to disallow any gathering or events with more than 10 attendees.
Further:
- With the support of superintendents from all 14 school districts and other education leaders that educate Kansas City students, all schools, public, private, charter and parochial, will close no later than Wednesday, March 18, until the end of the emergency notice.
- Restaurants and taverns should serve customers via drive-thru, pickup, or delivery.
- Businesses are strongly encouraged to evaluate which employees are essential and allow non-essential employees to work from home.
- No visits to nursing homes and retirement or long-term care facilities are permissible.
- Entire households are required to self-quarantine if someone in their home tests positive for COVID-19. They are also strongly encouraged to self-quarantine if anyone in their household is exhibiting symptoms consistent with common symptoms of COVID-19 (i.e. fever, dry cough).
“I care first and foremost about the health and safety of all Kansas City residents, and this decision was not made lightly,” said Mayor Lucas. “We understand these drastic measures will have unprecedented impacts on our local businesses and working families and recognize that this is one of the most challenging periods our city and nation has ever faced. I know for certain that our residents will band together during this period of crisis to offer assistance and support to each other.”
We encourage wisdom and discretion as you determine the best steps for your business, your patrons and your team members. Take time now to proactively and preventatively plan. For further information, here is a CDC resource on how to keep the workplace safe. And the Small Business Administration (SBA) has additional recommendations for businesses and employers to prepare.
Keep your customers informed of any changes or decisions you’ve made, using your website, email or social media channels. This is also an ideal time to make patrons aware of ways they can help local businesses, including take-out orders, purchasing gift cards, placing over-the-phone orders, online sales, etc.
If you attend WABA networking or WABA-hosted events, please continue to monitor our website for cancellation notifications. We have chosen to cancel our next three March networking events, including our March 18 luncheon, March 31 happy hour and April 9 quarterly networking.
We will evaluate further events individually as dates approach. Decisions will be made in response to guidance from the CDC and World Health Organization, both of which currently recommend the postponement of large gatherings to minimize virus transmission. We look forward to rescheduling events when it’s wise to move forward, and we’ll continue to communicate through email and our website. Other WABA and Waldo CID board and committee meetings will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis in real-time.
If you live, work or play in Waldo, we encourage you to follow the CDC’s recommended steps to prevent illness. The CDC’s recommendations include cleaning your hands often, avoiding close contact, staying home if you are sick, covering coughs and sneezes, wearing a face mask if you are sick and cleaning and disinfecting.
We encourage wisdom and discretion as you make decisions in coming days and weeks, and we encourage you to consider how best to support our Waldo-area businesses. No matter what, communities need to stick together through thick and thin — and so we encourage businesses and neighbors alike to reflect on the following as you plan and decide.
- Who can you talk to now, like staff, neighbors or family, to make a smart plan for the future?
- How can you support your neighbors and business community digitally, to keep up on one another’s needs and health?
- If you’re able, can you donate to a KC food bank or donate supplies to a homeless shelter?
- Can you purchase items from local businesses and services so things might be less lean for them in coming months?
- If you or people you serve in your business are at high risk, how can you start hard conversations about how to isolate those who become ill and keep the community safe?
- If you’re able, how can you connect with your local service providers about creative ideas on how to continue delivering services and keep everyone safe?
While the future is uncertain, we remain positive about Waldo’s business community and thankful for all the incredible businesses that make this an excellent place to live and work! Take care of yourselves, one another and your families.
All the best,
Executive Committee
Waldo Area Business Association Board of Directors
Kate Nielsen, President
Bethany Dyche, 1st Vice President
Angela Braun, 2nd Vice President
Chris Robb, Treasurer
Sarah Koci Scheilz, Secretary
Debby Allmon, Past President