How a South Gate shopping center is keeping clean during COVID-19

SOUTH GATE, Calif. (KABC) -- Due to the coronavirus pandemic, shopping centers like Azalea in South Gate have added electrostatic spraying to their cleaning list to protect their tenants and customers while essential businesses remain open.

"By spraying we can get into every little corner and surface whether it's small kids that touch certain things that are lower than an adult, or surfaces that adults are touching," said Arturo Sneider, CEO of Primestor Development, a shopping center developer that manages centers across Los Angeles County like Azalea.

With the electrostatic spraying method, they are able to kill the coronavirus at an atomic level, according to Sneider.

"These are sort of products that are normally used in very high hygiene sort of sterilized environments," Sneider said.

And health experts have said electrostatic spraying is effective as long as the adequate product is properly applied and maintained.

The company said it's also helping their tenants financially on a case by case basis, including those is smoothie shop Lollicup Fresh also at Azalea.

"I understand they have to pay their own mortgages and payments too. So, they're doing the best they can to help me out," said David Song, owner of Lollicup Fresh. "Iknow, they referred me to like the later and part of the year. So hopefully summer is great for us so we can kind of pay them back."

Lollicup Fresh sales have drastically gone down, but they're happy they're able to remain open in a safe way, said Song.

"It feels like they have my back," said Song. "I would only hear about it in the news if there was a customer that had COVID-19 and they'll spray down the store. But Primestor kind of went ahead and set that standard for everybody. And I hope like others follow, like other owners and landlords too."

As of now, no coronavirus cases have been reported in any of their shopping centers, according to Primestor.

The developer says they also manage the following shopping centers: Chesterfield Square in Los Angeles, Freedom Plaza in Watts, Olivo in Mission Hills, Sylmar Towne Center in Sylmar, Walmart and Curacao at Panorama Mall, Bell Gardens Marketplace in Bell Gardens, Los Jardines in Bell Gardens, Village Square in Bell Gardens, La Alameda in Walnut Park and Plaza Del Sol in South El Monte.