As the CDC reverses the mask policy, Apple, Costco, Walmart, and others have some soul searching

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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed course on withholding guidance this week — and the move has important implications for retailers and other businesses. Some restaurants, for example, are already telling customers, “No sabotage, no service” as the delta variable is prevalent.

The CDC now recommends that people, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask indoors in areas with “high and high transmission” of COVID-19, as well as in K-12 schools. In May, the agency eased face mask guidance, saying it was no longer necessary for fully vaccinated individuals to wear an indoor mask.

Speaking to reporters this week, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Wallinsky highlighted her concerns about the highly contagious delta variant and the large proportion of people who haven’t been vaccinated. It defined “significant and high transmission” as 50 or more new cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day period.

“The CDC’s reflection further indicates that the epidemic is far from over, even with many Americans returning to shop, travel, attend concerts and sporting events, and go to bars and nightclubs.”

More than 2,000 US counties, or 63% of all counties, are experiencing significant or high transmission, according to the CDC countywide case tracker. “Many infections that are now occurring in the United States are the result of people who are not immunized compared to people who have been vaccinated,” Walinsky told SiriusXM on Wednesday.

The reversal further suggests that the pandemic is far from over, even with many Americans returning to shop, travel, attend concerts and sporting events, and go to bars and nightclubs, activities previously considered unsafe. Airlines require masks, but other organizations have a mixed set of mask policies.

On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that Apple AAPL, +0.65% plans to require both employees and employees to wear masks as of July 29 at more than half of the 270 US retail stores, citing the following company memo:

“After careful review of the latest CDC recommendations and analysis of health and safety data for your local area, we are updating our guidance on face masks for your store.” (Apple did not respond to a request for comment.)

Wearing masks indoors at retail stores, gyms and other outlets will not only protect other customers but employees, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers Federation, which represents 1.3 million food and retail workers, including pharmacy technicians and grocery store employees.

“Delegating a national mask is the only way we can finally get this virus under control and every retail executive in the country must realize that it is time for all of us to take cover so we can keep our economy open and our communities safe,” the union said in a statement released this week, according to Reuters.

Will other retailers follow suit?

Companies can require recipients to wear masks even if they have been vaccinated. Walmart WMT, +0.22% and Costco COST, +0.42%, among other large retail chains, are wearing a drop mask to vaccinated shoppers after the CDC issued its mask guidelines in May. The companies were not immediately available to comment on whether they were updating their mask policies.

However, the July 26 update to the Costco COVID-19 website said that its sites will “follow applicable state and local jurisdiction face mask regulations.” A Walmart spokesperson told CNN Wednesday that the company has followed CDC’s guidelines during the pandemic, adding: “This is a little more complicated due to county-by-county discretion, but we expect to hear more from us soon.”

Ultimately, state and local governments don’t have to adopt the CDC’s recommendations, but Mark Cohen, former CEO of Sears Canada Inc. He thinks all companies should do just that. He added that if he were still the head of the retailer, he would “insist on vaccinations and masks for all employees and masks for all customers,” he said. (The company did not respond to a request for comment.)

“When all else fails, the overriding issue of health and survival in this crisis trumps all others.” ”

– Mark Cohen, former CEO of Sears Canada Inc.

“Mask use in stores will relieve some customers and stop others,” said Cohen, who is currently director of retail studies at Columbia University. “When all else fails, the overriding issue of health and survival in this crisis trumps all others.”

There is a lot at stake. Equinox, which owns SoulCycle and Blink Fitness, saw a 55% rise in new members in New York City in the week after the CDC eased its mask-wearing guidance in May, Harvey Spivak, CEO of Equinox Group, told CNBC. . (Equinox did not respond to a request for comment.)

ClassPass, a booking platform for fitness classes, saw a 32% increase in bookings at Boston-based studios as of May 29, when Massachusetts raised its mask mandate to the beginning of July, the Boston Globe reported. For his part, Cohen said gyms and fitness studios should put health and masks before customers’ comfort.

Prior to the CDC announcement, CEO Brian Dodge asked the Retail Industry Leaders Association, a trade association, for customers to adhere to local business policies and to “respect employees and fellow customers who may continue to wear masks for their own safety and that of their families.”

In response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated guidance, the National Retail Federation, a trade organization that represents retailers, said, “It is really unfortunate that mask recommendations are back when the best known way to reduce the risk of the virus is mass vaccination.”

“The latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention underscores the urgent need for more Americans to be fully vaccinated so that we can all emerge from this pandemic,” the group said.

See also: How Silicon Valley is back in business with a mask without authorization

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