Chamber of Commerce Coalition encourages responsible business practices to curb COVID-19 spread

The Advocacy Coalition of Rochester Area Chambers (ACRAC), a group of chamber of commerce executives from throughout the Finger Lakes, is deeply concerned about the resurgence of COVID-19 in the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier Regions and its effects on our local businesses and economy. In that spirit, its leadership team released the following statement: 

“ACRAC is not interested in taking political sides on this issue but rather focusing on the health and well-being of our region. We believe that each of us has a role to play in helping to tackle the pandemic. 

“To avoid further business interruptions, ACRAC is asking our collective members and the community at large to observe social distancing, wear masks, disinfect regularly, and employ good hand hygiene. Employers should set good examples for their employees, and employees should set good examples for customers. 

“Recovering from the impact of this virus continues to be a struggle. We will continue working with our Congressional Delegation to quickly pass an additional stimulus package that includes support for small business owners. So too will we continue to support efforts by state leaders to increase infrastructure for COVID-19 testing, speed up turnaround time for results, and improve contact tracing capabilities in an effort to efficiently curb the spread of COVID-19.

 “We commend the work of Governor Cuomo and his administration in working to keep infection rates among the lowest in the country and stand ready to assist in any way that we can. 

“Business owners are rightly concerned about the increase in COVID-19 and the effects that another shut down will have on them, especially during the profitable holiday shopping season. Business owners must take every precaution to keep shoppers safe and remain open. 

“Residents can support their local businesses, economies, and communities not only by shopping locally, but also by following the recommendations set forth by the CDC, New York State, and our local county health departments. 

“Each of us must ask ourselves if we will be part of the solution, or part of the problem.” 

Leadership Team of the
Advocacy Coalition of Rochester Area Chambers