San Francisco is on the state’s watch list after a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations, meaning indoor malls will need to close Monday -- even though some retailers have only just reopened, putting safety measures in place to welcome people back.
Stephen Jordan runs a shop, Sakura Sakura, and he’s worried about not having customers walking through the door.
“We’re a retail store, the money is what we do here,” he said. “That’s the devastating angle.”
This new order comes with a lot of frustration from businesses that had put in a lot of money to reopen.
But with a recent surge in cases as well as increasing hospitalizations, leaders say this pause is needed.
At the Japantown Mall, the first round of shutdowns devastated business owners. Some stores went out of business, and others struggle to stay afloat, spending lots of money to take safeguards for customers. The second shutdown could be even worse.
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“Retail indoor is closing,” one Japan Center retailer said. “Currently we’re trying to asses if we can apply for curbside pickup to keep the restaurants open.”
They’re already had a few businesses cease operations.
“Revenue numbers are down to 30% to 40%, the little ones maybe 10% and you can’t pay your rent and live in San Francisco on that type of revenue,” the retailer said.
People can order online at Jordan’s shop and also at Kohshi Master of Scents. They opened back up June 24, but now they have to close again.
Many hope this is a wake-up call for people who aren’t serious about masks or social distancing.
The health order will also require private healthcare providers to expand testing.
