Malls In Philadelphia Suburbs Thrilled To Reopen And Help Participate In Recovery From COVID-19

WILLOW GROVE, Pa. (CBS) -- The Philadelphia suburbs are some of the last in the state to move into this new reopening phase on the road to recovery. It's a great day for some Pennsylvania shoppers.

Suburban malls have officially reopened, but one thing to keep in mind, you can't walk in without a mask. But if you happen to forget yours, don't worry, they have extras at the door.

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The people that were standing in line Friday morning waiting for the mall to open all got the memo. Parents and children all had their masks on. You'd be surprised at how long that line was.

One family tells Eyewitness News they've been cooped up in the house for months and it was time to get their children out the door to do something fun.

Social distancing is also in effect as each store manages the number of customers inside.

Shoppers are adjusting to the new rules, now that people are back in their happy place.

"There's a bunch of sales so I just wanted to get them before they sold out," shopper Oreck Frazier said.

It was also a time to reconnect.

"We haven't been outside of our house forever and we need to be somewhere so it's better than just staying at home," Erin Shaffart said.

There are five Pennsylvania malls opening Friday.

They are the Willow Grove Park Mall, King of Prussia Mall, Plymouth Meeting Mall, Springfield Mall and Exton Square.

This opens the way for employees to get back to work.

PREIT CEO Joseph Coradino says malls are critical to the local economy and he is thrilled to be able to participate in the recovery.

Throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, PREIT properties employ over 15,000 people. That's a lot of jobs ready to be refilled.

"Most of them have been furloughed and brought back and there's going to be some stores that are looking for new hires," PREIT Marketing Director Karisa Washan said.

In the meantime, stores have been prepping for reopening as they heed new restrictions and protocols.

"During our downtime, we've been thoroughly cleaning the property. We put out floor markers all throughout the property, just promoting social distancing. We have hand sanitizing locations throughout the mall. We also reduced food court seating and removed all common area seating as well," Washan said.

There are other adjustments that are happening at the mall.

Unfortunately, for children, the carousel will be closed.

Management says they are going to keep it closed until they can figure out a way that kids can ride while social distancing.