Business & Economy

Employees and contractors of any governmental entity may continue to provide the services and products if the governmental entity determines that they are necessary to carry out an essential governmental function. 

Yes, but only to the extent they support or supply those essential businesses.  Warehouses and distribution centers should minimize the number of employees onsite and strictly comply with all social distancing requirements in the Order. 

You may keep your liquor store open if it also sells a significant amount of products like food, and household cleaning and personal hygiene items. 

The cafeteria can operate like other food facilities.  It can serve food to the remaining employees, so long as the employees take the food away and do not eat it in the cafeteria.  The cafeteria must strictly follow the social distancing requirements in the Order.  

Many businesses are not allowed to operate under this Order.  Essential businesses, as defined in the Order, are allowed (and encouraged) to continue operating.  If your work is not an essential business, you are not allowed to go to work and your employer cannot make you go except for limited minimum basic operations such as maintaining the value of a business’s inventory, keeping the business site safe and secure, or ensuring that employees are able to work remotely.  The Order does not prohibit anyone from working from home.  Your employer can require you to work from home – and you can do so – if your work allows it. 

No. If you do not sell a significant amount of goods like food, hygiene, or cleaning products, you cannot keep your storefront open. Your store can deliver items directly to customers’ residences.  Other than that, you can only maintain minimum basic operations, such as store security and safeguarding your inventory.  

Yes.  If your store sells a significant amount of groceries and hygiene products, you can keep your entire store open. 

It depends.  Your lab may operate only if it performs work that is exempted in the Order.  Otherwise, you and your employees are allowed to perform only minimum basic operations onsite at your workplace, and must strictly comply with the Order’s social distancing requirements, including maintaining a distance of six feet from one another, frequently washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using an effective hand sanitizer, covering coughs and sneezes, and avoiding all social interaction outside the household when sick with a fever or cough.  Other than that, employees cannot be onsite at your lab locations. 

No.  The Order exempts any business that is performing work related to the delivery of health care, including hospitals, clinics, COVID-19 testing locations, dentists, pharmacies, blood banks and blood drives, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, other healthcare facilities, healthcare suppliers, home healthcare services providers, mental health providers, and veterinary care and all healthcare services provided to animals.   

Yes.  All employees of hospitals, clinics, and other organizations that provide healthcare, provide services to healthcare organizations, provide needed supplies to healthcare organizations, or otherwise maintain healthcare operations of all kinds may continue working. 

The Health Order does not advise health care workers over 60 to cease reporting to work, even though others in that age group are being directed to stay home.