CLARKSVILLE, Ind. — Phase two of Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb's reopening plan is in full swing.
Starting Monday, gatherings of 25 people are allowed, and retailers can open their doors to 50 percent capacity.
“I’m very excited to reopen,” said Benjamin Byrn, owner of DADA boutique in downtown New Albany.
Byrn says his store has been closed for two months due to the pandemic. On Friday Holcomb announced the new guidelines that would allow retailers to reopen the following Monday.
“I thought we would have more time to prepare honestly,” said Byrn, adding that he won’t be opening until Wednesday, May 6. "We felt that the fourth was just not enough time for us personally to be able to get in and make the changes and set up the precautions that we needed to keep everyone safe,” he said.
Byrn plans to have all of his staff wear masks and provide hand sanitizer throughout his store.
"Obviously we're available to open at 50 percent capacity, but we will be limiting it to ten people,” he said. “And we will be taking tomorrow to bring people in and train and ensure that they are very familiar with the new guidelines and our expectations to keep everyone safe and healthy.
Across southern Indiana, other businesses are delaying opening as well.
Green Tree Mall in Clarksville won't open until Wednesday. According to a statement on their website they do plan to adhere to social distancing guidelines, won't allow gatherings of more than ten people in common areas, and won't have any events inside.
"None of us had a pandemic standard operating procedure in place, so we are all trying to figure this out as we go along,” said Wendy Dant Chesser, president of One Southern Indiana. “There is risk and we recognize that, so my advice to everyone is going to be, take the cautious approach."
Chesser said she feels Holcomb’s reopening plan is well thought out, “I’m appreciative that there are metrics, that if there is any backslide in public health, there’s a way to back up with where we are in our reopening plan."
As businesses start to reopen, Chesser said One Southern Indiana is working to be a resource for them.
"We're going to do webinars with individuals who are either experts in their field or we're going to have open chat sessions so that our businesses that are going through the reopening process can then have a forum or support group if you will,” said Chesser.
The first webinar took place Monday afternoon. Clark County Health Officer Eric Yazel was the guest for it.
"The plan is putting a lot of responsibility in the community's hands,” said Yazel, who’s now asking retailers to do their part to keep the community safe.
"We have limited manpower, so we all have to work together,” he said. “We need businesses to be good community partners and try to enforce those regulations."
Yazel said Monday that he feels the community is positioned well to battle the spread of COVID-19.
“We still have some trouble spots that we have to watch out for,” he said. “Again, any type of facility that has a lot of people under one roof and close together is at risk. We’ve seen that in our nursing homes, and I think my fear is there will be certain hot spots in different locations as we all get back out and about. The challenge will be how to manage that without taking steps backward but also keeping everybody safe.”
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