Shoppers are waiting hours to get into stores at Vaughan Mills
Vaughan Mills is among the malls that go the go ahead to reopen to the public on June 19 as York region moved into Stage 2, while Toronto was still left waiting haircut-, patio- and mall-less back in Stage 1 along with Windsor-Essex and Peel.
But even after malls like the Eaton Centre and Sherway Gardens were finally permitted to resume operations as of June 24, Vaughan Mills has still been consistently busy, with long lineups at many of its stores.
it’s a two hour wait to get into the Nike store at Vaughan Mills right now #Toronto #vaughan @Nike pic.twitter.com/0lBiuxediR
— blogTO (@blogTO) July 5, 2020
Sixteen days after opening once more, customers looking to hit up some of the shopping centre's stores are experiencing long waits just to get in their doors.
Athletic wear stores like Nike, Adidas, Foot Locker, Asics and Puma seem to have the most people happy to queue to get their hands on some merchandise in-person.
The Nike store in particular was so long it snaked down the hall and outside one of the mall entrances.
People have been complaining about the overcrowding, wondering why so many shoppers are taking the risk of venturing to such a busy indoor space when there are tons of other (safer) alternatives right now, like online shopping.
The amount of people out shopping in Vaughan Mills rn is disgusting... stay the fuck home man, y’all are buying clothes to not have anywhere to wear it
— Fun Guy. (@AirMyles_24) July 3, 2020
People are also noticing that despite new health and safety measures that the facility has put in place — such as signs to remind shoppers of proper physical distancing rules — very little mask wearing or social distancing is being practiced.
The chaos has even sparked calls for Vaughan mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua to implement a mandatory mask policy in indoor public settings like malls — something Kingston and Toronto have already done.
@mbmayor I just returned from Vaughan Mills and I was horrified to find no social distancing, crowds of people and maybe 25% of them wearing masks. You need to follow the lead of Toronto and make masks mandatory indoors..are you waiting for more people to get infected here?
— Shawna Kruger (@shawna_kruger) July 4, 2020
Those who have been desperate enough, for whatever reason, to head to the mall lately have also noticed that not only are people failing to allot at least two metres between themselves and others while browsing in stores or roaming the centre's halls, they also haven't been spacing themselves out well while lining up.
#vaughanmills was a #covid breeding ground this past weekend. Many shoppers not wearing masks & NOT social distancing. Had some1 almost breathing down my back while in line. If u can’t a wear mask then BACK THE F🤬 UP 2 mtrs #COVIDIDIOTS
— madiee (@2019_madsie) June 29, 2020
Many are now wisely vowing to keep away from Vaughan Mills until others get their fix and the hordes die down a bit. But they likely won't be heading to another shopping centre in the area instead, as long lines seem to be a continuing problem at select stores in malls like the Eaton Centre, too.
Stuck one foot in vaughan Mills to return something yesterday..saw the disaster of a breeding ground it was and turned right around. Nothing but mess
— Jasmine (@jasminnie_) June 29, 2020
Though we all know that people in the Toronto area love to line up for basically anything — from donuts and ice cream to White Claw — hopefully the novelty of being able to do normal activities like walk around a mall for the first time in months will soon wear off and people's common sense will kick in.
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