On Friday, April 24, businesses may open for curb service, delivery or shipping only. To keep everyone as safe as possible, there are policies. Business owners may choose to stay closed or open with strict guidelines in place.
Texas Health and Human services has issued the following guidelines. A printable document can be downloaded here.
Customers may purchase items from a retail location for pickup, delivery by mail, or delivery to the customer’s doorstep, but may not enter the premises.
In your business:
• All employees must be trained on environmental cleaning and disinfection, hand hygiene, and respiratory etiquette.
• All employees must be screened before coming into the business for new or worsening cough; shortness of breath; sore throat; loss of taste or smell; feeling feverish or a measured temperature greater than or equal to 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit; or known close contact with a person who is lab-confirmed to have COVID-19. Any employee who meets any of these criteria should be sent home.
• Upon entering the business, employees must wash or sanitize hands.
• All employees must wear face coverings.
• Employees must maintain at least 6 feet separation from one another.
Retail to-go:
• All payments should be done over the phone or Internet if possible, and contact should be minimized if remote payment is not available.
• Purchased items should be delivered by the employee to the backseat or trunk of the customer’s vehicle whenever possible to minimize physical contact with the customer.
• Employees must wash or sanitize their hands after each interaction with a customer, and whenever possible, must disinfect any item that came into contact with the customer.
Retail delivery to customer’s doorstep:
• All payments should be done over the phone or Internet if possible, and contact should be minimized if remote payment is not available.
• Purchased items should be delivered by an employee or third-party carrier and delivered to the customer’s doorstep. The employee or third-party carrier may not enter the customer’s house or business.
Retail delivery by mail:
• All payments must be done over the phone or Internet.
• Purchased items should be delivered by mail without customer contact.
The choice to open is yours. These policies may not work for all businesses but it is an opportunity for “non-essential” businesses to begin conducting business. To keep all of us as safe as possible, we urge you to strictly follow these guidelines.