The Czech government hasn’t imposed any extra restrictions on shopping centers during as part of the state of emergency it’s declared. But in an effort to make shoppers feel safe, center operators are beginning to impose their own restrictive measures. Among the most prominent of these are directed at forcing people to maintain social distancing. Lidove noviny spoke with the director of the Zlate jablko shopping center in Zlin, who said security staff are being instructed to remind people to stay far enough apart from each other. “We got rid of most of the relaxation zones already in spring,” said Jiri Kratochvil. “That means seats and benches where it was possible to sit. We greatly reduced the number of tables in the food court, where we maintain the required distance between individual tables and there’s just half of the usual capacity for seating.” The Minister of Health warned shopping center operators that they shouldn’t led people spend too much time in food courts, but said that if tables were far enough apart, this should be enough to reduce the risk of the spread of coronavirus. Avion Shopping Park is concerned about all the young kids who hang out in the mall and has instructed security staff not to let them spend too much time in it. If this proves impossible, the mall plans to turn off the free Wi-Fi that has proved a major attraction to kids.
