Checking in: Mask, social distancing check at Dunkin' Donuts

As COVID-19 case counts continue to climb in Alamance County, we’re venturing out to see how the community is responding to phased reopening and continued social distancing recommendations.

We'll spend some time in the coming weeks observing masks worn and social distancing at various locations – both businesses and shared public spaces – and let you know what we see. We hope to better inform decisions you choose to make.

Also, let us know your observations: Are there stores and businesses doing creative, helpful things? Are there places where customer behavior hasn't caught up with the best practices? Email us at news@thetimesnews.com or send us a message on Facebook. We will try to track down some of your observations.

Here are the guidelines Elizabeth Pattman is following for her reporting visits:

Guidelines:

• 30 minutes at each location
• Weekday or weekend noted
• Public places or businesses
• All observations are a surprise to the location

Observations:

• Masks worn
• Masks worn properly
• Social distancing practiced
• Posted guidelines, signage, floor decals marking six-foot separation and signage recommending or requiring the use of masks
• Cleaning protocols

Dunkin' Donuts, Burlington

On Friday, Oct. 16, Pattman visited Dunkin' Donuts for 30 minutes, from 10:54 to 11:25 a.m.

Here’s what she found:

Even in the late morning as lunch hours approached, the county’s one and only Dunkin' Donuts location had a line of cars backed up on South Church Street waiting to get in. While most customers opt for the drive-thru line, the parking lot was full, including the coffee shop’s designated curbside pickup spots. Some customers were seen parking in an adjacent lot and walking over to place their coffee order.

With so many people visiting the location each day, how are they keeping employees and customers safe?

Signage on the doors in the coffee shop's signature colors remind customers to social distance and make note of the face masks requirement in North Carolina. Social distancing markers are also placed on the floor

On Friday, those social distancing markers were not enough to handle the crowd in store.

As two larger groups of college students came in, the store, which already had several customers inside, became increasingly crowded and proper social distancing was nearly impossible. More than a dozen people were inside the small shop, not including employees.

At one point, an employee announced that at least three people needed to wait outside due to capacity limits. Nine customers were left in store after that.

While Dunkin' Donuts enforced social distancing, enforcement of the mask requirement was not observed Friday.

While all of the employees working Friday morning were masked, most of them wore their face coverings improperly, tucked just below their noses. Only two employees were observed wearing their masks properly.

Customers were also lenient with how they wore their masks, with four people seen wearing them below their noses. One customers was in store without a mask at all.

While plastic shield were set up at the checkout and pickup counters, no other cleaning or safety measures were observed Friday. In the 30 minutes Pattman was at the store, no cleaning of those counters or the credit card terminal was observed.

This article originally appeared on Times-News: Checking in: Mask, social distancing check at Dunkin' Donuts