While Texas and Mississippi join a dozen other US states with no statewide mask requirements, many major retailers and employers are not ready to ignore facial coverage requirements amid a pandemic that killed more than 1,800 Americans on Tuesday alone.
The governors of both states said they would waive mask mandates and enable companies to operate at full capacity
“We now need to do more to restore livelihoods and normalcy for Texans by opening Texas 100 percent,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement. “We ensure that all businesses and families in Texas are free to determine their own destiny.”
In Mississippi, Governor Tate Reeves is also lifting mask mandates for all counties, saying his office “will stop telling people what they can and cannot do.”
Despite the pressure to reopen, residents of Texas and Mississippi will still have to wear face masks if they want to get into many grocery stores and other major retail chains. The retailers, including Kroger, Target and Walgreens, cited guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue to demand masks and take other measures to protect employees and consumers from the virus.
“There is currently no change in the Company’s mandate policy or current safety protocols in place at our stores or work sites to protect our customers and team members. We follow current CDC and OSHA guidelines regarding safety protocols , a Walgreens spokesperson said in an email.
The drugstore chain’s policy has always been to “gently remind customers who shop without a mask of the requirement, but out of concern for the safety of our employees, we do not discourage these customers from shopping,” added a spokesperson.
Another major pharmacy, CVS Health, will also maintain its face-covering policies in stores across the country, with a CVS Health spokesperson citing “strong scientific evidence that masks help prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
“If a customer is not wearing a mask or face cover, we will refer them to our signage and ask them to protect themselves and those around them by listening to the experts and responding to the call to wear a face cover the spokesman added. . “For security reasons, our employees should avoid escalating confrontations with non-compliant customers and instead help them complete their purchases as quickly as possible.”
Kroger, the country’s largest supermarket chain, “will continue to require everyone in our stores across the country to wear masks until all of our frontline grocery workers can receive the COVID-19 vaccine,” a spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch in an e-mail. -mail. The company said last month it would give each of its 500,000 employees in 35 states $ 100 to get immunized against COVID.
Target also insists on requiring customers and employees to wear masks, including those vaccinated against the coronavirus, “in line with current CDC guidelines,” a retailer spokesperson said in an email. The retailer makes an exception for people with underlying medical conditions and young children.
Patrons who prefer not to wear masks can shop through Target’s contactless options, such as online shopping, the retailer added.
Aldi said it would adhere to its national policy that requires its employees and customers to wear masks in its more than 2,000 supermarkets in 36 states.
“We are aware of the removal of mask mandates in both Texas and Mississippi, where we have retail locations. times, ”said an Aldi spokesperson in an email.
A Home Depot spokesperson said the retailer “requires employees and customers to wear masks in our stores or at any other Home Depot facility across the country. We will continue to follow CDC guidelines, as we have done all along. . “
Costco, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, and Whole Foods did not respond to requests for comment.
The National Retail Federation has issued a statement reiterating that stores are private entities that can deny access or service to those who refuse to abide by their policies. Furthermore, “It is within their right to implement and enforce policies that protect the health and safety of their employees and their customers,” a spokesperson for the trade group said in a statement.
HEB of San Antonio, Texas, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But the supermarket chain, which employs more than 135,000 people in more than 400 stores in Texas and Mexico, seemed to be taking a softer stance in talking to a local media outlet.
“While there is no longer a statewide warrant for masks, HEB believes it is important that masks are worn in public areas until more Texans and our partners have access to the Covid-19 vaccine,” an HEB spokesperson told a reporter. Fox News affiliate. “HEB will still require all our partners and salespeople to wear masks on the job, and we urge all customers to wear masks in our stores.”