SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (NewsNation Now) — As the countdown to Christmas continues, there’s an increased rush to finish holiday shopping; and it’s all happening in the middle of a pandemic which means in some parts of the country you’ll find crowded stores, crowded malls and crowded parking lots.
Suburban Chicago mall parking lots are full, even with retail stores restricted to 25% capacity by state mandate.
Shoppers are also out in full force in Concord, North Carolina – a state with no capacity restrictions on retail stores, although there is a state mask mandate.
“My entire life I’ve never even gotten the flu so I don’t feel it’s a huge threat. The face mask isn’t going to protect anybody from anything,” shopper Sara Montague said.
Another shopper disagreed, “Some people, they don’t understand safety first and why we’re in the situation we’re in now, because people don’t want to wear masks.”
Across the country in Sacramento, California, in an effort to avoid large crowds and gatherings, non-essential retail stores are limited to 20% capacity which means in-person holiday shopping can still happen but customers need to be prepared to wait.
“They have to calculate the 20%, so that will mean people will have to line outside waiting to get in -so being able to plan ahead is important,” Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said.
Due to the continuing threat of COVID-19 exposure, a group of bipartisan midwestern governors is banding together to remind people to stay vigilant—asking residents to continue mask-wearing, social distancing and refraining from travel—while also asking people to support small businesses.