SELINSGROVE, Pa. — Snyder County is among the 24 counties slated to move into Governor Wolf's Yellow Phase tomorrow.
With restrictions being lifted at midnight, many businesses, including the Susquehanna Valley Mall, were planning to open their doors to customers.
But today the state told operators of the mall not so fast.
The mall had been gearing up to welcome customers back as the county is moved to Governor Wolf's yellow phase.
Snyder County Commissioner Joe Kantz said mall employees have been working for days, getting the building ready to comply with social distancing.
“They've been preparing, getting social distancing, getting signs up, the cough guards on all the registers, things like that, spending a lot of money,” said Kantz.
But at the 11th hour, some surprising and unwanted news.
According to the state, malls are considered to be indoor recreation and must remain closed despite the lifted restrictions for others.
“I don't know how you get indoor recreation from retail businesses or shops,” said Kantz.
"The CDC has set some guidelines, and I think at this point we need to let businesses follow those guidelines,” said Chuck Steininger, another Snyder County Commissioner.
People shopping at the Walmart across from the mall had mixed opinions.
“A lot of people in there are just walking around, hang around makes perfect sense,” said Anthony Yetter from Middleburg.
“The mall's also a necessity because they are business owners, and they should be allowed to open the mall,” said Ann Watkin from Mount Pleasant Mills.
The commissioners understand the fear that coronavirus cases will increase if too much is reopened.
They are just asking the state to give business owners a chance to prove they can reopen safely.
“I think this is an opportunity to show, to let the businesses show that we can handle this, built business, and now's the chance to, we want safety, but we also want our business to be there,” said Steininger.
The mall says the Boscov's in Snyder County can reopen and will do so this Sunday.
The commissioners believe the department store is allowed to get back in business because it has a separate outdoor entrance.
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