The first follow-up report from a coronavirus economic impact survey of local businesses will be released today (Tuesday) by the Regional Economic Research Institute at Florida Gulf Coast University. Of the businesses surveyed in Southwest Florida, 66 percent reported decreases in sales revenue of more than 50 percent because of the pandemic. “The small businesses were a little more pessimistic and a little more eager to get things going again,” said Dr. Christopher Westley, director of FGCU’s Regional Economic Research Institute. Draft results from the April survey show that nearly half of respondents indicated that the local economy should be “opened up” within the next 15 days, while 22 percent felt that the economy should open in the next 16 to 30 days. Forty-four percent were concerned about opening up the economy too early, while an additional 44 percent were concerned about opening it up too late.
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