Nebraska Furniture Mart: Extend Mask Mandate Through Thanksgiving Weekend

One of Omaha’s leading retailers is not only backing the city’s mask mandate but is also asking city officials that it be extended even longer than a proposal now on the table.

In a letter emailed to Mayor Jean Stothert and all seven members of the city council, Ron Blumkin the Chairman of the Nebraska Furniture Mart asks that the mandate remain in effect through Sunday November 29 for the “safety of our customers and staff.”

The city council approved the mandate in August and it is due to expire October 15 but the council is already looking to keep it going until November 24, two days before Thanksgiving.

Blumkin however wants the extension through the entire Thanksgiving weekend noting, “Black Friday, which falls on November 27^th, is typically one of the busiest shopping days of the year. In fact, the entire Thanksgiving weekend is extremely busy for NFM and many other retailers. The historical density of customers at that time of year in retailers’ showrooms is generally concerning during the pandemic.”

A public hearing on the extension is scheduled for Tuesday’s city council meeting.

The council is expected to vote on the extension October 6.

Westside School officials are also backing the proposed extension, at least through November 24.

School board member Adam Yale emailing the council that Westside has had a handful of cases but no evidence that the COVID-19 virus has spread adding, "And we suspect that is in part due to our efforts to wear masks, wash hands and keep distance."