PHILADELPHIA - Small businesses that managed to weather the storm of shutdowns imposed by Philadelphia when COVID-19 first gripped the city two years ago are still in recovery mode despite things being close to pre-pandemic normal.
Exactly two years ago Wednesday, Philadelphia officials ordered non-essential business to close at 5 p.m. The edict closed most small businesses and reduced restaurants to delivery and take-out. "It was a quite a nightmare, roller coaster the last couple of years," Owner of Flannel restaurant Marc Grika recalled. "All we got was a good luck, thumbs up, and we knew it was trouble from that point on." From March 2020 on, coronavirus spread across the world and so too did its influence on everyday life.
In the months since, Americans have trudged through COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, universal mask mandates and capacity requirements.
Three vaccines were quickly developed to slow the virus as it manifested into difference variants that forced officials to reimpose loosened restriction.