New social distancing measures took effect at retail stores across Connecticut Friday.
“I have to keep checking myself like oh you’re getting a little too close in line,” Nico Dlubac said.
The Safe Store Rules, part of an executive order from Gov. Ned Lamont, went into effect Friday. Among the rules, occupancy is capped at 50%, floors must be marked to show 6 feet of spacing at checkout lines and high traffic areas, and aisles must be one-way for stores that have the ability.
“We’re not really first responders but we’re pretending like we are,” Stew Leonard Jr. said.
Leonard says his stores are now following orders from the governor to only allow two people per cart and following mayor-mandated guidelines at his Norwalk location, only one family member in the store at a time.
“We’ve been asking customers right at the entrance only one family member and most of them are more than happy to do it,” Leonard said.
Retail stores are now required to have Plexiglas shields to separate employees from customers. Leonard is also taking more precautions for employees.
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“We mandated that everybody wear masks we got 4,000 masks for team members at Stew Leonard’s now,” Leonard said.
There is no word on how long the rules will remain in effect, but for now it’s a new way of shopping and a sign of the times.
