Concerns about the swine flu will result in the region's largest mall installing hand sanitizing stations before shoppers turn the coming weeks into the busiest shopping days of the year.
Briarwood Mall will install the stations - featuring waterless hand sanitizer - before Black Friday to accommodate the public's concerns about H1N1 flu.
All of the 385 properties in mall-owner Simon Property Group will be installing the equipment, said Ida Hendrix, Briarwood manager.
"We're conscious of the flu season," she said. "... We're going to put the sanitizing stations in some strategic areas."
Primary among them: The children's play area, located in the JC Penney wing.
Other areas include each of the five entrances and near the restrooms, Hendrix said.
"I think it's a great idea," Hendrix said. "It'll give people better comfort ... Hopefully shoppers will appreciate it."
At least 42 people in Michigan have died from complications of swine flu since April. Washtenaw County recorded its first swine flu death last week.
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