Vermont tightens restrictions
Vermont’s Agency of Commerce and Community Development says big-box retailers must cease in-person sales of non-essential items.
The state’s rules include the following: “showrooms and garden sections of large home improvement centers should be closed.”
The non-essential items that must cease in-person sales include, but are not limited to, “arts and crafts, beauty, carpet and flooring, clothing, consumer electronics, entertainment (books, music, movies), furniture, home and garden, jewelry, paint, photo services, sports equipment, toys and the like.”
The agency described “big box” as “Walmart, Target and Costco, with in-store sales of food, beverage and pharmacy, as well as electronics, toys, clothing, and the like.”
When asked to clarify the status of Home Depot and Lowe’s, a spokesman for the agency said they are part of the group of large retailers.
The agency said hardware stores are allowed to continue in-person business operations, as long as they resort to online and telephone orders for delivery and curb-side pickup “to the extent possible.”
“Large ‘big box’ retailers generate significant shopping traffic by virtue of their size and the variety of goods offered in a single location,” said Agency of Commerce and Community Development Secretary Lindsay Kurrle. “This volume of shopping traffic significantly increases the risk of further spread of this dangerous virus to Vermonters and the viability of Vermont’s health care system. We are directing these stores to put public health first and help us reduce the number of shoppers by requiring on-line ordering, delivery and curbside pickup whenever possible, and by stopping the sale of non-essential items.”
Read the release describing the order here.
The state’s rules include the following: “showrooms and garden sections of large home improvement centers should be closed.”
The non-essential items that must cease in-person sales include, but are not limited to, “arts and crafts, beauty, carpet and flooring, clothing, consumer electronics, entertainment (books, music, movies), furniture, home and garden, jewelry, paint, photo services, sports equipment, toys and the like.”
The agency described “big box” as “Walmart, Target and Costco, with in-store sales of food, beverage and pharmacy, as well as electronics, toys, clothing, and the like.”
When asked to clarify the status of Home Depot and Lowe’s, a spokesman for the agency said they are part of the group of large retailers.
The agency said hardware stores are allowed to continue in-person business operations, as long as they resort to online and telephone orders for delivery and curb-side pickup “to the extent possible.”
“Large ‘big box’ retailers generate significant shopping traffic by virtue of their size and the variety of goods offered in a single location,” said Agency of Commerce and Community Development Secretary Lindsay Kurrle. “This volume of shopping traffic significantly increases the risk of further spread of this dangerous virus to Vermonters and the viability of Vermont’s health care system. We are directing these stores to put public health first and help us reduce the number of shoppers by requiring on-line ordering, delivery and curbside pickup whenever possible, and by stopping the sale of non-essential items.”
Read the release describing the order here.