Many small businesses were beginning to reopen as shutdown orders began to lift last month. Now, as the pandemic gains new strength and lockdowns are being reimposed, a number of those businesses which had restocked merchandise and invested in protective equipment for workers and customers are shutting down for good.
“I can’t keep doing this,” said a Texas karaoke club owner who has walked away.
In the last half of June, businesses were giving up at a faster rate than during the previous three months, according to review website Yelp.
Almost 66,000 small businesses have closed for good since lockdown orders were imposed, Yelp reported, with business closings during the last half of June making up 14 percent of all closures since March.
The total number of small businesses that have permanently closed may be closer to 110,000, according Harvard University researchers who analyzed data from Alignable, a social media site for small business owners.
Some business owners find it too difficult to stay abreast of changing, and sometimes conflicting, state and local mandates while others are unwilling to risk liability or their own health.
