Major mall in Halton announces reopening amid COVID-19 pandemic
Published May 22, 2020 at 2:26 pm
With the Province on Ontario loosening its COVID-19 lockdown orders, Toronto Premium Outlets officially reopened Friday (May 22).
With the Province on Ontario loosening its COVID-19 lockdown orders, Toronto Premium Outlets officially reopened Friday (May 22).
The mall closed on March 19, two days after Premier Doug Ford issued a state of emergency.
In an official statement, Toronto Premium Outlets said that “reopening provides a much-needed economic boost to the local community impacted by COVID-19”.
The property has more than 1,000 employees and contributes $5.3 million in property tax revenue to Halton Hills.
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As part of the reopening process, the property published its comprehensive COVID-19 Exposure Control Policy, developed in conjunction with a team of what they said are leading experts in the fields of Epidemiology and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), in order to deliver an elevated set of safety standards at the property.
“The health, safety, and well-being of the community we serve will always be our highest priority, and we have developed a thorough and detailed set of protocols highlighting the exceptional measures we’ve implemented for shoppers, retailers, and employees as we reopen,” said Helena Moniz, General Manager at Toronto Premium Outlets.
“We also recognize that individuals and families in our community are suffering significant hardship as a result of both COVID-19 and the economic shutdown, and we believe that reopening our property will not only help people get back to work during these challenging times but also enable us to use our property to further support charitable initiatives.”
Toronto Premium Outlets said its enhanced safety protocols have been communicated to all tenants, who are expected to adhere to the same rigorous policies in their tenant spaces.
Health & Safety
The property management team rigorously analyzed all aspects of the shopping experience and designed a complete set of safety protocols encompassing the following areas:
- Enhanced sanitization and disinfecting using approved products with an emphasis on high-traffic locations such as dining areas, restrooms, escalators, stairs, directories, trash bins, and doorknobs.
- Shopper safeguards that include making available protective masks, sanitizing wipes and temperature testing at entrances or property offices, as well as the encouragement of pre-visit health screenings to ensure shoppers stay home if they have exhibited COVID-19 or flu-like symptoms within 72 hours.
- Hand sanitizing stations will be deployed throughout the property.
- Signage promoting guidelines for maintaining personal hygiene will be prominently displayed throughout the property.
- Pre-emptive employee health screening to ensure that employees do not arrive at work within 72 hours of exhibiting COVID-19 or flu-like symptoms.
- Employee safety protections including implementing COVID-19 frequent hand-washing protocols, and offering personal protective equipment in addition to other recommended practices.
- Promotion and enforcement of social distancing practices, including occupancy limitations, furniture and restroom spacing, closure of play areas and strollers, as well as coordinated traffic flow with traffic signage and distance markers.