Candice Tinnon
Staff Writer/MC301
Some businesses in the state of Mississippi were allowed to reopen on April 26. In a daily press conference Gov. Tate Reeves gave the okay for some businesses to open back up while others, such as entertainment venues, salons, gyms, spas, and other close-contact service providers are still closed until further notice.
Businesses began closing all over the United States as a result of a quickly spreading new version of the Coronavirus now known as COVID-19. Rumors began spreading all over the Internet about COVID-19 during the latter half of 2019.
According to www.wlbt.com, as of April 29, the number of presumed positive coronavirus cases in Mississippi was 6,569. Also, 250 people have died from COVID-19 in Mississippi.
States like New York, New Orleans and others have seen a large number of deaths due the COVID-19. This has precipitated the cancellation and postponements of major events. Some of the biggest events to get hit were SXSW, Coachella, and WrestleMania.
Small businesses have been hit hard as well due to mandates from state and local governments such as Mississippi, Tennessee, and New York ordering Shelter-In-Place or Stay-At-Home orders, which only allow citizens to go outside or travel outside the house for essential needs.
As a result, schools, such as Jackson State University, switched to online classes and offered those who lived in the dorms to voluntarily move out. Meanwhile businesses had to either go virtual, do take out or delivery only, or temporarily close.
Small businesses end up scrambling to keep their businesses from closing permanently and keep from laying off their employees during this pandemic crisis. According to MSNBC, the United States congress rolled out the Paycheck Protection Program, which is apart of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, to help small businesses stay afloat for at least 3 months.
Phillip Rollins, the owner of OFFBEAT, is hanging in there.
“Our business has been hit pretty significantly throughout the pandemic. We were a popular hangout spot and venue for young black artists to share their work. That was extra revenue that we needed to help sustain the store. We have since focused all of our efforts into our online store/website,” said Rollins.
April Watson Stringfellow of Watson Family Dentistry, who has been in private practice for 13 years, discussed how dentistry has been affected by COVID-19.
“Due to mandates from the Dental Examiners board and the Department of Health, we’ve been shut down since 3/19/20. I’ve mainly handled dental emergencies by phone and in cases of extreme pain I’ve referred out to a specialist,” Stringfellow stated.
Stringfellow added, “I’m actually in the process now of implementing more measures to ensure that patients as well as staff are protected from exposure to the virus. Universal precautions have always been in place, but now additional equipment will be installed.”
According to CNN, another round of small business loan programs hit this week to the tune of $310 billion dollars. However, that is expected to quickly dry up. Some small businesses have expressed worry over the possibility that they may have to close down their businesses for good.
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