Self-Employed Set to Join Virus Plan Already Overrun With Demand

The $349 billion rescue program for U.S. small businesses, already overburdened by demand and delays, is about to get a new flood of potentially tens of thousands of applications.

The self-employed and independent contractors can start applying April 10 for loans under the government plan for small businesses battered by the coronavirus outbreak. They’ll join a program that started a week ago for firms with fewer than 500 workers, and was marred by lack of guidance for lenders, computer glitches and borrowers being shut out.

Without more guidelines from the Small Business Administration, the agency in charge of the ...