Unless you enjoy shopping online, COVID-19 has put a huge wrench in the plans of consumers. With everything being shut down or using a restricted schedule, business has not been booming for most. Today, shopping malls reopened in Ohio and many new practices have been set in place in efforts to keep us all safe.
Polaris Fashion Place and Easton Town Center both opened their doors to the public again, however not all business are back in motion. Though, many businesses were pleasantly surprised to have a steady flow of customers throughout the day.
New rules are being practiced just about everywhere. In Easton for example, masks are required for customers. They have installed hand sanitizing station all throughout the mall and have one-way stairways to control the flow of foot traffic.
“If they don’t feel comfortable, we understand,” said Easton CEO Jennifer Peterson. “If they’re not interested in wearing a face covering and don’t want to come, we understand that.”
All efforts are being made in order to get the economy booming again but also respecting the fact that COVID-19 is still an issue.
At Polaris Fashion Place about half of the occupants in the mall have not yet reopened their doors, but they are looking forward to more getting on board soon.
At DSW in Polaris, they are taking extra precautions to keep germs at a minimum. Masks and gloves are provided at the entrance and aisles are now marked as one-ways to help maintain social distance standards. To take it a step further, shoes that may be tried on or handled by customers will be temporarily “quarantined,” according to store manager, Erin White.
“We have health and safety associates who are taking them off the table and we have areas in our backroom where we are quarantining them for three to five days,” White said.
Overall, not too many drastic changes are taking place but there are definitely new practices in place to keep all of us safe. If you plan to get out and hit the malls, here is what you can expect:
- Face coverings or masks of some kind are required for all workers (There are some exceptions in some cases that have to do with worker safety.)
- Malls and retail stores must follow strict new rules including social distancing of six feet between everyone in the store
- Store capacity will be limited
- Some stores may have a time limit on shopping
- Stores are required to have hand sanitizer available and must clean thoroughly throughout the day
- Some stores may require customers to wear masks
- Some individual retailers in malls may choose to stay closed or have their own hours of operation
Source: NBC4i
Ohio Shopping Malls Reopen With New Rules In Place! was originally published on mycolumbuspower.com
