GREENWOOD — Five major shopping centers across the state re-opened on Monday.
Five Simon properties were allowed to re-open as part of Phase Two of Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb's plan to re-open the state.
The malls that were allowed to open included: Greenwood Park Mall, Hamilton Town Centre in Noblesville, Indiana Premium Outlet in Edinburgh, Tippecanoe Mall in Lafayette and University Park in South Bend.
Those five mall locations will operate from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from Noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
The company's three shopping malls in Indianapolis will remain closed, per the extended stay-at-home order in Marion County.
As part of their plan to re-open, Simon has enacted enhanced safety protocols throughout their locations and all tenants are expected to adhere to adhere to the same policies in their spaces, Simon said in a statement.
"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."
New Health & Safety Procedures for Simon Malls:
- Enhanced sanitization and disinfecting using the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 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 will be deployed throughout the properties.
- Signage promoting CDC guidelines for maintaining personal hygiene will be prominently displayed throughout the properties.
- 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.
