Delaware Retailers Take Small But Important Step Of Opening For Appointment Only
WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) -- This morning, retailers in Delaware were allowed to welcome customers, by appointment only, for the first time since late March. While some retailers are opening their doors for appointments, others aren't quite ready.
For Steve Harkey, music is beautiful. And so is being able to tell customers they can walk into his store, Accent Music in Wilmington, now that the governor is allowing retailers to see customers by appointment.
"Wear your mask, make sure you're not sick. Make an appointment, come in, we'll let you in, we'll sit you down with a guitar and you can try it out," Harkey said.
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Gov. John Carney stressed Tuesday that he is still concerned about outbreaks, so this is a small but important step.
"We just need to find a way to live and conduct business more safely and recognizing that there's a virus," Carney said.
Not every Delaware retailer has elected to open.
Others are not ready to schedule appointments quite yet. Friendly Gift Shop has been doing curbside-only sales for eight weeks.
"We just found out late yesterday about the ability to do appointments," said Friendly Gift Shop manager Heidi Allen. "So once we get the store back in order, we'll be doing appointments as well.
"Before they enter, whatever personal belongings, have them set those aside, sanitize their hands so whatever they're encountering their hands are clean, and you know, ring them up like we normally would."
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Back at Accent Music, the store might be open but its music school remains closed. That affects 300 students and 20 teachers.
"If school is closed, that's going to be a big problem. How do we get back into teaching private lessons one-on-one?" Harkey said.
Harkey said the music school rooms are too small for effective social distancing but many of the instructors are still teaching students through Zoom and FaceTime.
Meanwhile, the state of Delaware is still on track for a wider reopening called phase one. That's scheduled for June 1.