By GRANT SCHULTE-Associated Press
GRETNA, Neb. (AP) - A Nebraska mall that pitched itself as a case study for how to reopen safely welcomed customers Friday for the first time since closing because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Fewer than a dozen customers were at Nebraska Crossing when it opened 11 of its more than 80 stores at 11 a.m. Those who were there wore masks and wandered the open-air mall's mostly empty pathways, stopping at times to peek into shop windows.
The mall sits next to a busy stretch of Interstate 80 in Gretna, a fast-growing suburb about halfway between Omaha and Lincoln. The opening coincided with other malls in the state allowing customers to return on Friday, including Lincoln's Gateway Mall and Omaha's Westroads Mall.
Nebraska Crossing resumed business with new safety measures in place, including signs to promote social distancing guidelines and Plexiglas barriers in restaurants. All but one of the entrances were taped off. Mall officials said in a Facebook post they were leaving it up to individual stores whether to check customers' temperatures or turn them away because they weren't wearing a mask.
Nebraska Crossing officials faced criticism for deciding to reopen before the virus was contained. They have repeatedly held up their outlet as a national model for how to safely reopen shopping centers, but when reporters arrived on Friday to cover the reopening, a mall employee screamed at them to leave and followed them to their vehicles, saying they were on private property.
Customers said they were a little apprehensive about coming to the opening, but that they felt safe because it wasn't crowded.
"I do think it's a little soon, but it's kind of slow and there aren't a lot of people here, so I'm not too worried," said Jasmine Ramos of Omaha, who was wearing a protective mask.
Tina Jones, of Omaha, said she came to walk around, enjoy the sunshine and perhaps buy some shoes. Covering her face with a cloth mask, she said she hoped some of the stores would reopen soon.
"I've never been here before and there are no malls open in Omaha," she said, adding that she has spent most of the past few weeks self-isolating at home.
Nebraska is one of the few states that have allowed malls to remain open throughout the pandemic even though many businesses are closed because the state prohibits gatherings of more than 10 people and has limited restaurants and bars to take out and deliver services. Some of those restrictions will be relaxed in the Omaha area on Monday.
Mall officials previously announced plans to hold a "soft opening" last week, but they later appeared to backtrack. Store officials also discussed their decision with Gov. Pete Ricketts, who has said they were free to reopen as long as they follow the state's social-distancing rules.
Meanwhile, state health officials reported two additional deaths from COVID-19 in Nebraska, bringing the state's total to 70, as the number of confirmed cases of infection in the state continues to surge.
The deaths were reported late Thursday in Hall and Hamilton counties, according to a news release from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Hitchcock County in southwestern Nebraska also reported its first confirmed case of the infection on Thursday, the release said.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and death.