CALHOUN CITY, Miss. (WTVA) - The pandemic has forced people, businesses and entire towns to make lifestyle changes.

WTVA reporter Bronson Woodruff spoke Monday with Laura Edwards, the president of the Calhoun City Chamber of Commerce, about the local effects.

“Some [businesses] have fared well; it really depends on what line they’re in,” she said.

She added restaurants and beauticians have been affected quite a bit.

“Some of them [businesses] in the area had just opened, and it made it really hard for them to be able to weather that.”

Now more than ever, it's important to support small businesses and shop locally if possible.

“Our friends and neighbors, you know, so we just need to be supportive of them,” customer Kathy Simpson said.

Concerning sales tax revenue, Edwards said a decrease in it would make sense.

“Based on the downtrend of in-house shopping, uh, it would stand to reason that the sales tax revenue has also decreased.”

Moving forward, Edwards in effect said that if people are able to work and spend locally, it will help boost the local economy.