“The restaurants are hurting right now,” Hillmer added said. “A lot of owners are making very difficult decisions about what staff to keep on and what to lay off.”

Gatherings banned

During Tuesday’s announcement, Evers ordered that no gatherings of 10 or more people take place. He added that the school closures, which were tentatively set to end April 6, would be extended “indefinitely” because “we don’t know if it (April 6) is a realistic deadline.”

“What we’re saying here is simply this: stay home, if you can,” Gov. Tony Evers said. “There are workers on the frontline who can’t stay home. We need our health care workers, our direct care workers, first responders, military and service workers healthy so they can continue to keep us all safe.”

To survive right now, Hillmer said that small-businesses/restaurants need federal and state help.

The House approved an emergency bill Monday that aims to provide economic stimulus during the coronavirus crisis, but Hillmer said the bill is “problematic” in relation to how it aims to help restaurants.