The growing fear over a new virus has transformed busy streets and shopping centers into ghost towns in parts of China, Japan and Italy.
Now, with the virus spreading in the U.S., it could deal a major blow to the country’s over 1,000 malls at time when many are already struggling with a slew of retail bankruptcies. New diagnoses of the disease in several U.S. states have raised the tally of cases to more than 100. Nine people have died, all in Washington state.
Big malls like American Dream and Mall of America and mall owner Taubman Centers Inc. say they’re adding hand sanitizer stations, and they’ve also stepped up disinfecting high-touch areas like doors and handrails. The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) said its members are following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Stacey Keating, a spokeswoman for Chattanooga-based mall operator CBL Properties, said on Friday that hand sanitizer units are available in high-traffic areas throughout its locations, which include Hamilton Place and Northgate malls.
“We are working with service providers to ensure thorough cleaning and sanitizing of all high traffic common areas with the appropriate cleaning agents,” she said. “Additionally, we are engaged in ongoing discussions with our management teams, local health departments, service providers and vendors, as well as ICSC, our peers and retailers in order to track best practices as they evolve.”