Flax-Charles said during a live social media interview on Thursday, August 13, considerations are being given to these large enterprises because of the far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The government wants to ensure that we boost the economy and restore a sense of confidence in the business community and the territory, and we are certainly looking at all angles. Not because a business employs more than 20 persons does that mean they are ok during these times,” she stated.

“Every single person, every single business has been affected. It’s not like with the hurricanes Irma and Maria where we were slammed, and other places nothing happened and they were able to help us. Everybody around the world needs help. We are a government of inclusion and we want to make sure that nobody feels left out. You might be looking for $20,000, but that might not be possible depending on a lot of other factors. But we will try to help as best we can,” the junior minister added.

In the meantime, Senior Policy Analyst in the Premier’s Office, Lizette George said although the current stimulus grants would not be for businesses on the larger scale, there are other options that can benefit employees of these larger companies.

“I believe that given the COVID-19 era, the government is in the process of trying to address everybody’s needs. For instance, there is the Social Security grant that is offered to employees where businesses of any size can apply for those grants for their employees who have been laid off,” she explained.

Government had announced that $6.5 million was allocated through a grant provided by the Social Security Board for this programme.