SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. — The City of Memphis and Shelby County unveiled a Back to Business plan Monday afternoon.
The executive order in Memphis will allow officials to keep a watchful eye on businesses and stores once Phase One of reopening is allowed.
“One of the reasons we wanted to enter our own order is because I’ve been told legally, we need to do that if we want city officials enforcing it,” Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said.
Officials have an order in place, but there’s no actual date set to start reopening Shelby County.
Memphis Code Enforcement, equipped with extra personal protective equipment and training, has been handling the majority of non-compliance calls during the shutdown.
That protocol is expected to continue once the first businesses open back up, and customers are allowed inside.
“The health department will actually provide technical assistance,” Shelby County Health Department Director Dr. Alisa Haushalter said. “I think that’s important because it’s more working with businesses, providing education and helping them develop strategies to enforce and reassure social distancing in their facilities.”
“Memphis police are getting some calls, although we try to limit their involvement and push it to code enforcement,” Strickland said.
Local officials are aware there will be growing pains, and they’ll allow for leniency in the early phases.
“Talking to the businesses, talking to the individuals who are not practicing social distancing, explaining the importance of it and the requirements,” Strickland said.
“We’re generally going to try and schedule an appointment, but if there’s an enforcement call that comes in, we might make that visit unannounced,” Haushalter said.
They said for the most part, Mid-South businesses and residents have followed CDC guidelines, and there’s hope that trend will continue when Back to Business requirements are met.