Retailers across the peninsula, and nationwide, are adjusting their hours of operation to allow the most at-risk residents to have time to make purchases after re-stocking. Also, the restructuring of hours is intended to improve health concerns of employees.
On Monday, Anchorage was among many cities in the U.S. to place major restrictions on restaurants, as well as businesses that typically garner more than 50 patrons at a time. Some companies outside of Anchorage are making similar changes to encourage social distancing, without being prompted to do so by emergency orders.
In Kenai, Three Bears Alaska has allotted 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. as a block exclusively for shoppers at the age of 60 or older. According to the retailer, this decision allows them to re-stock stores for all customers. Allowing seniors to shop first gives the most at-risk individuals an easier opportunity to secure the goods they may otherwise be competing with younger, healthier people for. Walmart and Safeway, each typically open 24-hours a day, are closing during the overnight hours to allow for more efficient re-stocking.
Similar to Anchorage’s emergency order barring restaurants from serving food in-house, local chains like McDonald’s and Starbucks have implemented similar rules. While using the drive-thru and mobile pick-up services are still an option, eating inside the establishment is not. Starbucks is following a similar model to their response after the outbreak began in China, where the company was initially forced to close over half of its 4,000 China-based stores, its second-largest and fastest-growing market. A month later, 90% of the coffee giant’s China locations are now open.
Rosann Williams, president of U.S. company-operated business for Starbucks: “These are the actions we know are effective based on our experience in China. Working together, I am confident we can modify operations in all stores quickly and seamlessly, as we know the majority of our customers already get their order ‘to go’ and most of our customers who typically use our café seating are also used to visiting us at mobile-order-and-pay and drive-thru.”
With the COVID-19 caseload in China on the decline, the World Health Organization is working to share lessons learned there for the benefit of other countries now facing the crisis.
