“This has been the most stressful week I’ve ever experienced,” Itawamba County Development Council Executive Director Vaunita Martin said from her home in Eggville, some 17 miles from her office in downtown Fulton and the dozens of local businesses she works with every day.
Every normal day, that is. But days have been far from normal since the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic began. Countless small businesses nationwide have shuttered their doors, either voluntarily or via municipal mandate, in an effort to encourage social distancing. It’s a move that will slow the spread of the virus, but could also be devastating for local economies and entrepreneurs.
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