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Several Central Florida malls reopen Monday
Some Central Florida malls are reopening Monday after the state's stay-at-home order is lifted amid the coronavirus pandemic.
LAKE MARY, Fla. - Several malls and retail stores in Central Florida are set to reopen Monday as the governor’s stay-at-home order expires.
The last several weeks have been anything but normal near the Orlando Premium Outlets.
“It’s like a ghost town,” Smoke Pharmacy employee Skyler Ross said.
The Smoke Pharmacy is across the street.
“I stare out the front door all day and there’s just nobody,” Ross said.
That’s all about to change.
The governor’s stay-at-home order is expiring.
Several retail stores and malls are reopening and are operating at 25 percent capacity.
That’s good news for the smoke shop.
It’s seen fewer customers since the mall closed.
“Of course I don’t want people to come rushing in or anything, but I expect with other places being open, people will be more comfortable to come out,” Ross said.
The company that owns Orlando Premium Outlets, also owns the Florida Mall and Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets.
Those stores are set to open Monday, too, along with the Oviedo and Volusia malls.
Paddock Mall in Marion County said it plans to reopen on Friday with reduced hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The Mall at Millenia told FOX 35 News it will make an announcement about its reopening soon.
In Lake County, the Lake Square Mall will open on Mother’s Day.
The mall’s Belk store will reopen a few days earlier on Friday.
Until then, the store is offering curbside shopping.
“That’s good because some people don’t want to go in, which I understand,” Kaleb Miller, of Tavares, said.
Lake Square Mall staff say they will be taking extra precautions when they open, doing deep cleaning, offering masks to customers and other social distancing measures.
“I think it’s a good start,” Ross said. “A good start to getting back to normal. I don’t think things will be normal again right away at all, but I think we should do anything we can safely to slowly get back there.”
Most of these malls reopening will have limited hours and of course will be following the capacity limits set by the governor.