Retailers adapt ahead of holiday shopping

New regulations will affect retailors ahead of holiday shopping. Officials hope all guidelines will be followed to help keep shoppers safe.

Posted 12:37 a.m. Nov 25, 2020 — Updated 12:40 a.m. Nov 25, 2020

Keely Arthur

, WRAL reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — As the holiday shopping season approaches local and state leaders are turning to business owners and retailers to help in the fight against COVID-19.

In addition to bringing your holiday cheer, a mask is a must. You also won’t see those big crowds, because strict capacity limits are in place and if businesses don’t enforce it, there will be repercussions.

On Monday, Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration issued a new set of guidelines to retailers, which included a new level of enforcement. Now, any retail business location with more than 15,000 square feet of interior space must have a worker at each entrance who is responsible for the face coverings and emergency maximum occupancy requirements.

Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin hopes retailers take Gov. Roy Coopers latest message seriously.

Baldwin says this weekend the Fire Marshall and special events coordinators from the city will check in on businesses to make sure capacity limits-- which are set at 50 percent, and guidelines on masks-- which now need to be worn at all times outside of the home, are followed.

“We are going to focus on voluntary compliance,” Baldwin stated. “Some of it might be driven by a complaint, so if we see complaints about a business, we will go check it out."

While voluntary compliance is the first line of defense. She says businesses that don’t listen could face fines or shutdowns. That will begin the first weekend of December. Baldwin says that she doesn’t know how much those fines will be yet.

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