A stretch of Interstate 40, which runs from downtown Memphis across the Mississippi River into Arkansas, has come to illustrate the patchwork of rules restricting movement in the United States. On the Arkansas side of the river, where the governor has resisted a statewide mandate, some \u201cnonessential\u201d businesses remain open. On the Tennessee side, a stay-at-home order went into effect this week, closing stores.<\/p>\n
Now, the owner of a chain of clothing stores called Deep South located on both sides of the Mississippi is operating under two different sets of rules. The company\u2019s owner, Munther Awad, a 47-year-old immigrant from the Middle East, said he owned two stores in Arkansas, which are open, one in West Memphis and another in Little Rock. And he owns a third store in Memphis, which is now closed because of a local mandate last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like if you would have just went ahead and put the whole nation at the same time on a lockdown, we could have got some control over it,\u201d said Lavanda Mayfield, 33, who was waiting to serve takeout to customers at the Iron Skillet restaurant at a truck stop near I-40 in West Memphis on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut now it\u2019s just out of control,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause you did state-to-state.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n For a small number of states in the South and Midwest, pressure is growing for governors to issue stay-at-home orders. \u201cWhat are you waiting for?\u201d said Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, who issued the first statewide order last month. https:\/\/t.co\/mUoN83OWyr<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NYT National News (@NYTNational) April 4, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n