COVID is waning, but shoppers remain cautious

By Scott Nunn, posted Jun 18, 2021 on BizFayetteville.com

Local shoppers remain cautious even as COVID-19 numbers begin to fall. (Photo run with permission from Veronica Bermudez)

A month after Gov. Roy Cooper lifted most pandemic-related rules and restrictions, COVID-19 numbers continue to fall. In the past week the state has averaged about 380 new cases each day, down 27 percent from just two weeks ago.

Perhaps the most important benchmark is the positivity rate — the percentage of test results coming back positive. Health officials say a rate of 5 percent or less means the virus is no longer spreading. During the worst days of the pandemic, North Carolina’s rate was 10 percent or higher at times. On Friday it was 1.9 percent.

The numbers are improving locally as well, with new cases in Cumberland County down 24 percent during the past two weeks ago. A lingering concern, however, is Cumberland County's positivity rate, which stood at 5.1 percent on Friday.

Although the numbers show the region on a path toward normal, the public is not quite there yet, said Jessica Kirkman, marketing director of Cross Creek Mall.

“I think right now we're in a new normal,” Kirkman told the Business Journal on Friday. “Crowds have returned to the mall, but I think everyone has been kind of respecting their own personal space.”

Kirkman said the mall is following local guidance, such as asking people who are not fully vaccinated to wear a mask. But she thinks many people remain extra cautious, adhering to a lot of the precautions that were in place in the worst days of the pandemic.

“I think people are just still kind of following those rules,” she said. “It’s about their own comfort level.”

Kirkman noted, too, that some visitors to the mall have medical conditions that make them more susceptible to illnesses and tend to take extra precautions.

The owners of one popular shop at Cross Creek already were familiar with taking extra health precautions. In fact, it inspired Will and Tiffany Glass to start their successful business, HotSugarPop.

Their son Tye has severe food allergies, which meant he often had to avoid snacks that other kids were enjoying. Tye did love popcorn — which was safe for him to eat — but the microwaved variety eventually proved boring. Will and Tiffany decided to try their hand at something tastier, and their homemade kettle corn turned out to be a hit, with people now flocking to their shop at the mall.

Manager Veronica Bermudez was running the shop Friday, and although things were a little slow, she said it had more to do with the time of year than with any lingering impact of the pandemic.

“It has been a little slow, but that’s just because it's summer,” Bermudez said. “People are going on trips, having their cookouts and stuff like that. But other than that, it's actually been pretty good.”

In fact, she said, business has remained popping during the entire pandemic.

She said most people that come inside the store still wear masks and the shop follows the county’s guidelines. Although HotSugarPop never installed the ubiquitous plexiglass shields, the store did ramp up sanitation efforts, a practice that continues.

Meanwhile, Kirkman said that mall customers have been incredibly cooperative during the entire pandemic, eager to protect themselves as well as others. She said the mall is still holding off on certain activities, such as events with large crowds.

“I think it's definitely going to take time for people to return to a full comfort level and, you know, some people may not,” she said. “I think it's just going to take time.”

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