Businesses impacted by the latest set of COVID restrictions in B.C. will soon be able to apply for a one-time relief grant up to $10,000.

In an announcement Thursday (Dec. 23), the province said the grant will be based on the number of employees a business has 鈥� a similar formula used in previous COVID-related grants this past year.

Applications for the grant will begin in January and be open until February. More details will be released in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, business advisors will be able to support and direct applicants through a dedicated call centre that will be set up in early January by the Province and Small Business BC. Businesses will also be able to email questions to covid@smallbusinessbc.ca.

鈥淲e鈥檙e all exhausted by COVID-19, but unfortunately COVID-19 is not done with us,鈥� said Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon.

鈥淎s we have done since the beginning of the pandemic, we are coming together to ensure those hardest hit businesses will receive much-needed support. The COVID-19 Closure Relief Grant will directly help businesses through these difficult times. I encourage everyone in B.C. to support impacted local businesses, including businesses that have been forced to close by buying gift cards and memberships for future use.鈥�

As of Wednesday, all fitness centres and bars and nightclubs were ordered to close until Jan. 18. Event venues have been restricted to run at 50 per cent capacity.

The grant comes as the federal government also extended their up-to $300 weekly COVID benefit for employees out of a job due to the pandemic to include those impacted by capacity restrictions.

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ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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