**Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 –** We are facing truly unprecedented times with the global coronavirus pandemic. This crisis is affecting all of us – our families, our businesses, and our community. More than ever, our members need our support. As a result, Downtown London established an ad hoc COVID-19 Task Force to work with staff in identifying priorities and how we can best serve our membership at this time. The Task Force is comprised of: Barbara Maly, Andrew McClenaghan, Asaad Naeeli, John Fyfe-Millar, Jordan Detmers, and Bonnie Wludyka. Together with staff, they surveyed the membership via SurveyMonkey and performed one-on-one telephone outreach. Members were asked to disclose their concerns and needs. A few key themes emerged: - What subsidy, grants, and benefits are available from all levels of government to support my business? - How do I best help and retain my employees? - Safety and crime in the downtown and the need for increased surveillance - Ensure downtown image and upkeep is maintained and increased - The need for ongoing and crisis support for marginalized individuals - Questions about rent – what are my rights as a tenant/landlord? - The need for continued advertising of my business - A plan for a campaign/event to draw traffic downtown once this is over With this valuable feedback, Downtown London created a COVID-19 Action Plan to assist members throughout the duration of this crisis all the way through to post-crisis recovery. For more information [please view the detailed COVID-19 Action Plan]({pdf_path('https://www.ledc.com/assets/pdf/Action_Plan_Final.pdf')}). **For all media inquiries, please contact:** **Andrew McClenaghan** Chair, LDBA Board of Directors 519-858-9604 [amcclenaghan@echidna.ca ](<{site_url('mailto:amcclenaghan@echidna.ca ')}>) **Barbara Maly** Executive Director 519-808-1776 [barbara@downtownlondon.ca]({site_url('mailto:barbara@downtownlondon.ca')})