MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The City of Memphis is cracking down on nonessential businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, but some areas of the city are resisting the closures.
The CDC defines nonessential businesses to include entertainment, hospitality, recreation, athletic facilities and beauty and healthcare services.
Mayor Jim Strickland said the city is taking “every measure to enforce the full extent of the law” for non-compliant groups.
“They have gotten complaints about 204 businesses to date,” Strickland said. “They have visited at least 181 of those businesses, and two failed to comply and got an order to close.”
The city claimed a variety of businesses resisted the temporary shutdown. The city said 56 have required re-inspection after being evaluated, and 41 violations have been issued at the time of this report.
Meanwhile, unemployment numbers are skyrocketing.
The city expects federal relief to arrive in the next week or two and has set up a call center to help find pandemic-related jobs, specifically for those in the hospitality industry, but they acknowledged the difficulties with job creation that COVID-19 presents.
“It’s a difficult time to put on additional work in the community when we have a clamp down on gathering into groups,” Doug McGowan, chief operating officer for the City of Memphis, said.
Memphis officials are feeling encouraged with recent trends in business compliance and the overall community response to safety guidelines.
The city was once considering expanding the list of nonessential businesses, but it hasn’t been forced to take additional action.
The city maintains that all cuts have been made for the greater good.
“Social distancing is the key,” said Dr. Alisa Haushalter, director of the Shelby County Health Department. “So adherence to all of the orders that have been forth, including the health directive around social distancing, is critical.”