Mayor says it's time to close businesses in violation of COVID rules to 'show we are serious'

Selma Mayor James Perkins Jr. said businesses that don’t comply with COVID-19 restrictions should prepare for “the hammer” to come down.

At the Selma City Council work session Thursday, Perkins said the city has been using “the training approach rather than a heavy hammer” of closing businesses who ignore regulations about masks and social distancing.

“I know it’s not popular to close businesses, but we do have the authority to do that,” Perkins said. “We’re getting to the point that we may have to tell the (police) Chief to close them down to show we are serious.”

Perkins said citizens are texting and calling city hall to let them know about businesses that aren’t following the city’s emergency rules to limit the spread of COVID-19. City officials are going to those businesses and letting them know what the requirements are, according to Perkins. “We’ve gone about as far as we can” with the educational approach, he said. 

He referred the council to the reported 120 COVID-19 deaths in Dallas County, saying the death toll is approaching 1% of the city’s population. Perkins noted that while the elderly account for 17% of the cases, they are 79% of the deaths. He also pointed out that 58% of the deaths are among white people. 

Councilwoman Jannie Thomas thanked the mayor for speaking out about COVID. “I just lost two old people in Ward 7, one this morning and one on Wednesday,” Thomas said. “A lot of people don’t take this seriously.”