Simon Malls in Osage Beach and Springfield will open Monday

The Nation’s largest mall owner, Simon Property Group plans to reopen malls across the country between Friday and Monday. Simon operates both the Osage Marketplace in Osage Beach and the Battlefield Mall in Springfield. Simon announced temporary closures of its locations on March 18 as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the U.S. Workers will be required to wear masks while customers will be strongly encouraged to wear them. CDC-approved masks and hand sanitizing packets will be available for shoppers by request. Employees, contractors, and vendors will be required to screen themselves for a fever or other symptoms before coming to work. Mall workers will regularly sanitize high-touch areas like food court tables, escalators, and doorknobs. Retailers are encouraged to do the same. Locations will have a limited number of entrances and customer-traffic-measuring technology will monitor the number of people inside. While the malls themselves plan to reopen, it will be up to individual retailers to decide if they want to follow suit. Business hours will be limited to 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The malls will close early so they can be cleaned overnight. Simon says the Osage Outlet Marketplace in Osage Beach and the Battlefield Mall in Springfield will both reopen on Monday, May the 4th.