COVID-19 Executive Order Safe Stores

Governor Ned Lamont has issued an Executive Order that all retail stores must follow beginning on April 3, 2020. Safe Stores Mandatory Statewide Rules, Amending Executive Order No. 7, Sec. 3.

Effective upon the opening of each retail establishment for the first time on April 3, 2020, every retail establishment in the State of Connecticut shall take additional protective measures to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 between and among customers, employees, and other persons such as delivery drivers or maintenance people. The Statewide rules are listed below:

Statewide Rules

Occupancy, store layout, and managing customer flow.
Occupancy capped at 50% of store capacity. At entrance, staff will maintain a count of the number of customers entering and exiting stores.
Clearly mark 6’ spacing in lines on floor at checkout lines and other high-traffic areas and, as much as practicable, provide ways to encourage 6’ spacing in lines outside the store.
Post conspicuous signage and floor markings to direct customers and limit bottlenecks and/or encourage spacing and flow in high-density areas.
Have aisles be one-way in stores where practicable to maximize spacing between customers. Identify the one-way aisles with conspicuous signage and/or floor markings.
Maximize space between customers and employees at checkout lines, including, but not limited to, only using every other checkout line, where and when possible.
Install Plexiglas shields to separate employees from customers at checkout lines and other areas in the store where practical.

General

Communicate with customers through in store signage, and public service announcements and advertisements, there should only be one person per household during shopping trips, whenever possible.
Discontinue all self-serve foods (e.g., salad bar, olive bar) and product sampling.
Allow “touchless” credit card transactions. If not possible, sanitize credit card machines (including pen) regularly and consistently.
Cart and basket handles sanitized between uses (by staff).
Wherever possible, employees will wear gloves and face masks at all times that they are interacting with customers and/or handling products.