The coronavirus knocked them down. Stores eye rebound as Idaho’s recovery plan begins
Charles Guthrie walked into Shu’s Idaho Running Co. looking for a pair of running shoes.
“My feet hurt,” Guthrie said. “I’ve been running in too-old shoes, and here I am.”
The store at 1758 W. State St. had been open only a few minutes Friday as Idaho began Stage 1 of Gov. Brad Little’s four-part coronavirus pandemic recovery program, Idaho Rebounds.
Nonessential stores that had been closed since Little issued his stay-home order on March 25 — including most retail shops — could now reopen, as long as they put into place practices such as sanitizing surfaces, marking spaces to keep customers 6 feet apart and directing employees where appropriate to wear face masks.
May 1 brought some easing of coronavirus restrictions in many states, as authorities have grown comfortable with slowing rates of community spread.
At the same time, residents have grown restless under stay-at-home orders, and the weakened economy — where 3.8 million American workers have lost their jobs — has underscored the need to get people back to work.
But small-business owners contacted Thursday by the Statesman weren’t bracing for a rush of customers. Instead, they were hoping just to begin rebuilding sales.
The parking lot near Shu’s in the Marketplace strip mall suggested that modest hopes were appropriate, with only a small number of spaces filled.
Guthrie, who walked in wearing a black face mask, said he would have come in weeks ago had it not been for Little’s stay-home order.
He said he felt safe going shopping even though other people may stay home to avoid possible infection from the virus that causes COVID-19.
“I think a lot of it comes down to your own risk assessment,” Guthrie said. “If people are willing to go out and try to be vigilant about their own health and cleanliness and safety, then you know that’s the risk they’re willing to take.”
Shu’s staff spent Thursday getting ready to reopen. Benches for customers to sit on while they try on shoes were spaced more than 6 feet apart. Hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes were put out for customers and employees.
“We’re super excited about today and getting to reopen,” General Manager Leone Rusher said in an interview.
Like store owners and managers interviewed Thursday by the Statesman, Rusher wasn’t sure what to expect with the doors back open.
In a typical year, Shu’s sees business pick up in February and increase as the weather gets warmer.
“I don’t think it will be like last year,” when sales were strong, Rusher said. “I think everybody’s just going to be more cautious about what they’re doing.”
For the past month, Shu’s, named for owner Mike Shuman, has offered private appointments to fit customers and sell them shoes. The shop will continue offering appointments for the next two weeks.
Rusher and other employees weren’t wearing masks but had them available.
“We all have a mask so if a customer comes in and would like for us to put one on, we’re more than happy to,” she said. “We kind of leave it up to the customer and their comfort level, because we want them to be comfortable coming in.”
Little’s rules for business reopenings
Section 7C of Little’s “Stay Healthy” order that took effect Friday says:
Employers shall:
Develop and implement measures to ensure employees and customers are maintaining at least six-foot physical distancing from other individuals whenever possible;
Provide adequate sanitation and personal hygiene for employees, vendors, and patrons;
Frequently disinfect commonly touched and high-traffic areas and regularly clean those areas.
Employers should:
Identify how personal use items such as masks, face coverings, and gloves may be required by employees, vendors, and/or patrons;
Provide services while limiting close interactions with patrons;
Identify strategies for addressing ill employees, which should include requiring COVID-19 positive employees to stay at home while infectious, and may include keeping employees who were directly exposed to the COVID-19 positive employee away from the workplace, and the closure of the business until the location can be properly disinfected;
On a case-by-case basis, include other practices appropriate for specific types of businesses such as screening of employees for illness and exposures upon work entry, requiring non-cash transactions, etc.;
Implement additional protocols established in the Governor’s Guidelines for Opening up Idaho and the business-specific protocols published at https://rebound.idaho.gov/
The “shall” portion is mandatory, and a violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in a county jail and a $1,000 fine. Enforcement of Little’s coronavirus orders has been the exception, not the rule, as he and local elected officials emphasize education and peer pressure to do the job.
Idaho not the only state opening for business
Besides Idaho, other states that loosened restrictions Friday were Utah, Wyoming, North Dakota, Texas, Alabama, Iowa and Maine.
Colorado and Oklahoma had earlier lifted some constraints and on Friday allowed additional businesses to open. In Tennessee, a stay-home order expired at 11:59 p.m. Thursday.
Several other states, including Florida, Nebraska, Missouri and West Virginia, plan to allow store openings on Monday.
Earlier, Alaska, Georgia and South Carolina had allowed reopenings.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top government infectious disease expert, said states and cities should proceed carefully.
“They know their states, the mayors know their cities, so you want to give them a little wiggle room,” Fauce said during a Thursday appearance on CNN. “But my recommendation is, you know, don’t wiggle too much.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 3:39 PM.
