Walmart has joined the growing list of retailers to require all of its customers to wear masks in order to shop.
Walmart is the world’s largest retail brand.
For Walmart, the changes are set to be put into place starting next week on July 20th. Starbucks has asked all visitors to wear masks or some sort of facial covering in all of the 9,000 shops it has around the US. Best Buy has just put the measure in place, while Costco has been mandating mask usage since May.
As of now, there is no legal basis to require the wearing of facial masks in the US. However, the Center for Disease Control has emphasized that everyone who leaves their home should cover their mouths to protect others if not themselves.
Until recently, many retail brands were hesitant in requiring customers to wear masks for various reasons. Some worried that it may be interpreted as antagonizing a batch of customers who refuse to wear masks while others said it did not wish to give employees the burden of enforcing the measure.
However, as the number of Covid-19 patients continue to rise in the US, the biggest brands have decided that it is now more beneficial to ask people to cover their faces for the sake of the employees and the brand.
Moreover, it now faces less public resistance because many local governments have reimposed stricter measures to curb the growth of the dreaded second wave of infections.
Walmart referred to this point in its Wednesday announcement, in which it mentioned that number of public health measures imposed have greatly increased all around the US. It explained that more than 65% of its stores are in places where the local officials required masks.
Walmart explained that they will ask customers in all stores to require masks to have consistency in its measure, even if the local officials have not yet mandated it by law.
The decision will likely be welcomed by both the owners and workers, as both groups have urged the company to mandate the usage of masks for the safety of everyone.
Share with us your thoughts on this decision, and be sure to share this story with all your friends before they go grocery shopping next week!
Replaced!