SANTA FE, N.M. (BRAIN) — A local news source is reporting that New Mexico officials have relented and are now allowing bikes shops to operate, under stringent rules, during the state's COVID-19 response. The state was one of the few remaining in the country where bike service was not allowed to continue under state-wide stay-at-home orders.
The Santa Fe Reporter said the capital city's mayor reached out to state officials on Wednesday to ask that they clarify whether bike shops could remain open. The Reporter said the governor's office replied to the mayor and said bike stores can remain open for service but not sales.
"Under the new orders, customers can't enter the bicycle shops, retail sales are banned, payments are to be made by credit card or debit card remotely; customers must leave and pick up bicycles outside the store; and the bikes have to be disinfected before being brought inside. Staff must also wear protective equipment and the stores have to be routinely disinfected," the governor's office told the mayor, according to the paper.
Retailers and bike advocates around the state had been lobbying the state to allow bikes shops to stay open without success until Wednesday. The state's official order on business closures, issued March 23, does not reflect the change.
Michigan now has the most restrictive state order in place, according to a database maintained by PeopleForBikes. In Michigan retailers are allowed to service bikes only if the bikes are used by workers to get to a job that is considered essential.
