South Florida malls shorten their hours to deal with coronavirus concerns
As Miami-Dade and Broward make sweeping changes to clamp down on public gatherings amid the coronavirus crisis, several popular South Florida malls have shortened their operating hours.
Among them: Aventura, Dadeland, Sawgrass Mills and The Falls malls.
The current hours, as of Tuesday, are all the same: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and noon-6 p.m. Sunday.
As of Tuesday, Dolphin Mall in Sweetwater still lists regular hours, with closing at 9:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 8 p.m. Sunday.
These hours may yet change if mall shutdowns are ordered in South Florida.
Several grocery chains, like Publix, Winn-Dixie, Walmart and Fresco y Mas, for instance, have shortened their hours to allow staffers to disinfect stores and stock shelves.
In a message posted to its website, Aventura’s general manager said the temporary early closings are partly to sanitize the malls’ high-touch surfaces. These areas include the elevators and their buttons, restrooms, handrails on stairs and escalators and the Treats Food Hall’s trays and tables.
Also the Rainbow Valley playground, Aventura Slide Tower and the Concierge Center are other high-traffic, high-touch areas that need extra attention, the message said.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 10:11 AM.
