Dubois County Officials Strongly Urge Essential Retailers to Make Changes For COVID-19 Safety

JASPER -- The Dubois County Health Department and Dubois County Commissioners are asking essential retailers that stay open during this Stay-at-Home period to make changes to keep customers and employees safe while shopping.  

Local officials are asking larger grocery stores and retailers (those with greater than 25,000 SF) like Walmart to offer pickup and/or delivery options when possible.  

Cloth face coverings need to be worn by all persons including employees.

See the local health officials' statement below....

Dubois County Health Department, with the support of Dubois County Commissioners, is strongly recommending essential retail and grocery stores make the following necessary guidelines to prevent crowding in the store and allow for social distancing:

1. Allow no more than 10 percent of stated fire capacity in the store at a time. Require staff to count the number of customers entering and exiting the store and to enforce those limits.
2. Clearly mark 6’ spacing lines and other high-traffic areas and consider ways to encourage spacing if there are lines outside. Consider posting signage or using ropes to direct customers and to limit bottlenecks/encourage flow in high-density areas of stores.
3. Designate employees to monitor social distancing and assist customers.
4. Maximize space between customers and employees at checkout.
5. Designate employee(s) to ensure the cleaning guidelines set by the CDC are followed.
6. Discontinue self-serve foods and product sampling.
7. Establish exclusive hours for high-risk populations, including seniors and follow the 10% rule during those hours.
8. For larger grocery stores and retailers (those with greater than 25,000 SF), offer pickup and/or delivery options when possible.
9. Allow only one member of family to enter the store at a time and consider not allowing children or pets in the facility.
10. Cloth face coverings need to be worn by all persons including employees.

We thank those stores that are already implementing all of these measures to keep our community members safe.

According to the U.S. Surgeon General we are entering the surge of this pandemic. Our behavior this week and next is crucial to our effort to defeat this virus.

Dubois County Health Department, with support from Dubois County Commissioners, want to strongly ask all businesses to reevaluate their essential business status. Close down if you cannot justify that you are an essential business. For businesses (retail, manufacturing and others) who have been considering closing down-now is the time.

For essential businesses who remain open, your employees must be able to: 

-practice social distancing.

-practice frequent hand washing.

-cloth face coverings need to be worn in any community setting including while working.

If your business cannot provide these essential practices for you employees, then we urge your business to close.  To save lives and reduce the damage threatened by this tragedy we must spare no effort in following guidelines.

“We believe that almost everyone in Dubois County is doing their best but almost is not enough,” said Dr. Ted Waflart, Dubois County Health Officer.  “To defeat this devastating virus every single one of us without exception needs to be making the maximum effort. We must stay strong, support each other and stay optimistic.”

A nonformal complaint can be made anonymously by anyone and does not require a signature. Nonformal complaints result in IOSHA contacting the company by phone, mail, e-mail or fax to investigate alleged hazards. To submit a complaint go to: https://www.in.gov/dol/3144.htm