BOSTON (WHDH) - Simon announced that it reopened several malls and shopping plazas throughout eastern Massachusetts on Wednesday after the coronavirus pandemic forced them to temporarily close.
Properties that reopened under enhanced safety protocols include Burlington Mall, Copley Place, Liberty Tree Mall, Northshore Mall, The Shops at Chestnut Hill, Solomon Pond Mall, South Shore Plaza, Square One Mall, and Wrentham Village Premium Outlets.
“The health, safety and well-being of those we serve will always be our highest priority, and we have developed a thorough and detailed set of protocols highlighting the exceptional measures we’ve implemented to safeguard shoppers, retailers and employees as we reopen,” said John Rulli, President of Simon. “We also recognize that individuals and families in our communities are suffering significant hardship as a result of both COVID-19 and the economic shutdown, and we believe that reopening our properties will not only help people get back to work during these challenging times, but also enable us to use our properties to further support charitable initiatives.”
Simon says it worked with a team of leading experts in the fields of epidemiology and environmental health and safety in order to deliver an elevated set of safety standards, which include:
- Enhanced sanitization and disinfecting using the Centers for Disease Control-approved products with an emphasis on high-traffic locations such as dining areas, restrooms, escalators, stairs, directories, trash bins and door knobs.
- Shopper safeguards that include making available protective masks, sanitizing wipes and temperature testing at entrances or property offices, as well as the encouragement of pre-visit health screenings to ensure shoppers stay home if they have exhibited COVID-19 or flu-like symptoms within 72 hours.
- Hand sanitizing stations.
- Signage promoting CDC guidelines for maintaining personal hygiene.
- Pre-emptive employee health screening to ensure that employees do not arrive at work within 72 hours of exhibiting COVID-19 or flu-like symptoms.
- Employee safety protections including implementing the CDC’s COVID-19 frequent hand-washing protocols, and offering personal protective equipment in addition to other CDC recommended practices.
- Promotion and enforcement of social distancing practices, including occupancy limitations, furniture and restroom spacing, closure of play areas and strollers, as well as coordinated traffic flow with traffic signage and distance markers.
Under Gov. Charles Baker’s four-phase reopening plan for the state, retail spaces were allowed to reopen as early as Monday with occupancy limits.
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