Major retailers announced on Wednesday the requirements for customers to wear masks in stores, as an increase in coronavirus cases across the country threatens to close businesses again.
Walmart, Best Buy, and Kroger were among the companies that said they will now require facial coatings everywhere in the US The National Retail Federation (NRF) encouraged other chains to adopt similar policies.
More and more states are imposing similar masking rules for all public spaces, with growing scientific studies showing the effectiveness of facial coatings in reducing the spread of COVID-19. Retailers, which were badly hit at the start of the pandemic, hope to avoid another round of blockades like those in March and April that affected their store revenue.
“We saw a turning point in the conversation that was happening, and we decided the time was right to do it,” David French, senior vice president of government relations for NRF, said Wednesday.
“Obviously, each business will make its own decisions. However, across the country, many stores operate in jurisdictions where masks are already required, ”he added. “When you look at the patchwork quilt from the current regulatory overlay, it’s already pretty common to operate under a mask mandate.”
Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer with locations in all 50 states, noted in its announcement that about 65 percent of its more than 5,000 locations are in areas where there is some form of government mandate.
Alabama became the last state to require facial coatings, with Governor Kay Ivey (R) making the announcement Wednesday.
But orders at the state level don’t necessarily prevent outbreaks of customers who oppose the new requirements.
A man in Royal Palm Beach, Florida, who was not wearing a mask recently pulled a gun from a masked shopper at a Walmart on Saturday over a dispute over the use of face covers, NBC reported.
In Eaton County, Mich., A man who stabbed another man for defying him for not wearing a mask inside a Quality Dairy store was shot dead Tuesday by police, ABC reported. Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) had ordered facial masks indoors the day before.
In May, a security guard at the Family Dollar store in Flint, Michigan, was fatally shot by a customer who was denied entry because he was not wearing a mask.
“Buying from a store is a privilege, not a right. If a customer refuses to comply with the store’s policies, it is putting employees and other customers at undue risk, “NRF said in a statement Wednesday.
Other companies that have already mandated a mask policy nationwide include BJ’s Wholesale Club, Apple, Costco, and Panera Bread.
Starbucks Announced last week it would require facial coatings for customers at all its locations in the United States. The company said that for places where state or local orders do not require masks, customers without facial liners can use the vehicle handling, sidewalk pickup or delivery options.
Unions are asking for protections beyond store policies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people cover their faces when they are in public, but there is no federal mandate on masks.
UFCW, the union representing more than 1 million retail, grocery and other essential industry workers, urges the federal government to step in and protect workers after Walmart’s announcement.
“Since governors in most states refuse to make masks mandatory, millions of Americans are unnecessarily in danger every day. It is time for elected leaders to stick their heads out of the sand and make masks mandatory in all 50 states to protect these brave workers and the millions of families they serve, “said UFCW International President Marc Perrone , it’s a statement.
Florida is one of the states that has not required masks in public. The state reported 132 new coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday, setting a record for the highest number of deaths in a single day.
“As peaks of COVID-19 continue across the country, front-line workers continue to put themselves in danger to make sure our families have the food we need. Without immediate action, these brave workers will continue to get sick and die, “said Perrone.
Other industries have asked federal agencies to guarantee the safety of workers.
The international president of the Association of Flight Attendants (CWA) said on Wednesday that it is “absurd” that the Federal Aviation Administration has not required airline passengers to wear masks and that the decision has been left to the airlines. individual.
“We all want the same thing, that we want to return to normalcy and we want to operate in a safe way and that everyone can continue shopping and that is good for our associates, that is good for our businesses and that is good for our consumers,” said French. from NRF.
“Wearing masks is a critical tool for getting back to normal more quickly. We can all make that happen by wearing masks. “
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