Coronavirus update for business: Business rent relief on the cards, startups behaving badly, and telehealth for pets

Rental relief?

The federal government is moving forward with negotiations on a possible rental relief package for small businesses.

Government sources say landlords may be offered tax breaks if they offer rent relief to their tenants, according to the Australian Financial Review. An official announcement is expected Friday.

Lockdown

Both the New South Wales and Victorian state governments are reportedly considering moving to stage-three coronavirus restrictions ahead of the other Aussie states and territories.

While we don’t know what exactly this will mean for small businesses, it’s likely it will lead to more forced closures, and more restrictions as to which businesses can trade. We might even get some clarity on the whole hairdresser situation.

“If we don’t slow things down, we won’t just have people waiting in line for Centrelink, we’ll have people waiting in line for machines to help them breathe,” Victorian premier Daniel Andrews said in a statement.

Startups behaving badly

As the coronavirus health crisis deepens in the US, two San Francisco startups have had to suspend sales of coronavirus home-testing kits, after the US Food and Drug Administration issued an alert warning they haven’t in any way been approved for use.

“We want to alert the American public that, at this time, the FDA has not authorized any test that is available to purchase for testing yourself at home for Covid-19,” the FDA said in a statement.

It also warned consumers to keep an eye out for fraudulent tests, vaccines and treatments.

“The FDA is particularly concerned that deceptive and misleading products might cause Americans to delay or stop appropriate medical treatment, leading to serious and life-threatening harm,” the FDA said in its daily COVID-19 roundup on Tuesday.

“It’s likely that the products do not do what they claim.”

Telehealth for pets

It’s not only humans affected by Australia’s social distancing measures, you know.

While the doggos of Australia may be happily settling into their new roles as head of distraction and chief of video conferencing, one startup is taking their health needs into account as well.

Vetchat has secured investment from pet insurer PetSure to quickly grow its animal telehealth solution, allowing pet owners to access veterinary services and advice from the comfort of quarantine.

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