City of Memphis
Strickland
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland issued a declaration of emergency Tuesday afternoon, to better facilitate the city’s response to the coronavirus, he said in a news release.
The order will allow the city to seek emergency federal and state funding and will allow city officials to buy emergency supplies in a more streamlined way.
Here’s Strickland’s statement about the declaration in full:
“As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its potential impact on the City, I am issuing a declaration of emergency for the city of Memphis effective immediately. This declaration allows the city and its departments and agencies to seek any and all necessary federal and state funding to facilitate the response to the emergency.
“Additionally, all required procedures and formalities as to procurements on behalf of the city are hereby suspended for purchased of equipment, materials, supplies and services needed for emergency management purposes.
“As you may have seen, the (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention – CDC) is now recommending that all social events of 10 or more people be postponed or canceled over the next 15 days. I am urging event organizers locally to follow that guidance.
City of Memphis
“I know many of you are concerned about getting your groceries, and making sure you have everything you need. I am asking that when you do grocery shop, please only get what you need. There is no need to hoard.
[pullquote-1] This morning I spoke with several of our local grocers, and they all have plenty of food and supplies in store or on the way. It’s just a matter of having time to get shelves restocked. We ask that you be patient, and if you have elderly family, friends or neighbors, please go to the store for them.
Starting tomorrow, Wednesday, March 18th, libraries and community centers will be closed until further notice. Parks and golf courses will remain open. However, we are cancelling all extracurricular activities (i.e. Play Your Park) at our parks. The closing of our community centers will not affect food delivery to (Shelby County Schools) students while their schools are closed or MIFA delivery to seniors.
[pullquote-2] While our facilities are closed, citizens that are members of city of Memphis senior centers can continue to receive a daily meal from their respective centers. Members that are registered to receive MIFA meals can opt to pick up their meal from the center in which they attend or have it delivered if they use our van service.
Members at all other senior centers will have the option to pick up their meal at their respective center for their regular nominal fee.
Additionally, our LINC211 telephone lines will be up and running seven days a week with augmented hours. Those hours are: Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
During this time, we strongly encourage you to continue to-go orders and support our local restaurants and their staffs. To help with this, we have decided to provide on-street parking relief exclusively for food delivery vehicles at various restaurant locations Downtown and Midtown where parking meters are installed.
Until further notice, we are relaxing enforcement at metered parking spaces, allowing on-street parking at no charge in front of restaurants. Please note that all restricted parking areas will remain in effect during this time to ensure public safety.”
