With the State's near total moratorium on work, I did some investigation on the NYS website and discovered that businesses with no employees are exempt. So I can keep showing (in theory) as each of us are self-employed. Doing my own secretarial work, I have no employees. Our business, by its nature, does not bring us into contact with many people, so the risk is smaller than with typical jobs.
I will leave it to each salesman, each buyer and seller, to decide how this affects your personal situation and will be understanding if you decide the risk outweighs the chance of gain.
But there are other things to consider:
1) Suppose the sellers don't want people coming in? We will ask them their feelings and viewpoint before arranging a showing. And honor their wishes.
2) My wife suggests showing only from the outside. She has a medical background so I see where this is coming from. But I don't think the idea will be well-received. If we follow this suggestion, I’d add some sort of hold harmless clause to protect us and sellers. Every home has flaws and I'd want buyers to be exactly aware of what they will be receiving.
3) How about virtual tours? Some city agents have been doing that for a long while, using video cameras, sometimes streaming while someone is on the phone with them, asking them to look in various corners and all. No techie, I have no idea how to do that and suspect my band width would not support it even if I did. But it’s a good idea and protects both buyer and seller from needless contact.
4) Shaking hands is a no-no now - and it feels unfriendly not to do it. I'll explain ahead of time to that we can bump elbows or do the namaste thing, but we can't shake hands. I do not want anyone to feel we are unfriendly.
5) Sanitation. Use alcohol wipes on door knobs and any hard surfaces. Carry the container with you. The bacteria, or whatever they are, live longer on hard surfaces than on soft ones (metal versus cardboard, for instance). Our agents will be the one to open and shut doors and suggest that buyers refrain from touching things. Which will be hard for children, I know. Maybe they should be left behind, not brought along when possible. All this is not important to sellers in an empty house, but is just as important to buyers as they don't know who was there before them.
Wash hands well, before meeting anyone and after they leave. Maybe it's a good idea to have everyone wash as soon as they get in each home. Bring paper towels for this (if you can find them).
If you want to wear breathing protection, by all means do so. But don't be offended if I do not recognize you without it!
6) Distancing - keeping the recommended 6’ away from each other should be doable, though awkward at times. But people forget.
7) Age - when dealing with older people (that's me!), exercise extra caution as they are the most susceptible.
8) Travel: I have always preferred to have buyers ride with me when we can. Saves gas and allows us to know each other better, get questions and concerns addressed. And it is a lot easier to show boundaries. But increasingly over the years, that happens less frequently. Right now is a good time to temporarily abandon that. practice.
Remember, we are trying to meet buyers and sellers needs as usual, but also we are trying to protect them and ourselves from each other. I expect to go over these suggestions beforehand so all parties know the “rules” before playing. If you have ideas along these lines, I am completely open to hearing them. We do not want to cause more problems than we solve.