ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County is preparing to hand out one million masks and 200,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to small businesses in an effort to help them reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Orange County's Director of Public Safety Danny Banks said small businesses were hit the hardest during the state shut down.
"The government shut these businesses down. We now see it as our responsibility to get them going again," Banks said.
He said many small business owners are struggling to reopen because they can’t find the personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to stay in compliance with the governor’s guidelines. Now the county is stepping in to help.
"We've got the intent of moving one million masks and 200,000 hand sanitizers in just five days," Banks said.
Banks said they're giving those supplies to small business owners in Orange County for free.
Last week, News 6 got an inside look at the warehouse that is holding all of the PPE. The county spent more than $1.5 million of the $243 million it got through the federal Cares Act to buy the supplies.
The county said the PPE will be handed out to about 20,000 small businesses starting on Monday.
"Some of them actually told us without these resources given to them by Orange County, they weren't going to be reopening," Banks said.
Banks said several thousand businesses, like restaurants, salons and barbershops, already signed up to receive the PPE kits.
Banks said the process is easy and it is first-come, first-serve.
In order for small businesses to qualify, they must register by completing an Interest Form at www.ocfl.net/PPE to get a pick-up appointment. Eligible businesses include for-profit, nonprofit but must be incorporated with the majority of their operations in Orange County and includes businesses with 40 or less part-time or full-time employees.
The business owner will select one of the six distribution sites across the county, select a date and a time this week to pick up the supplies. The owner then goes to the drive-thru site during their appointment window and picks up the supplies.
"We think we're going to be able to supply these businesses with something that could sustain them a week, maybe two weeks," Banks said. "If their businesses aren't that large, that may sustain them even longer than that."
Banks said this is a good start and the county plans to continue helping small businesses.
“I think we are looking very aggressively for opportunities to do even more. I think our small business community needs it,” he said.