Walmart to Require Face Masks in All U.S. Stores Starting July 20
July 15 2020 - 11:40AM
Dow Jones News
By Dave Sebastian
Walmart Inc. will require customers to wear face coverings
inside all of its U.S. Walmart and Sam's Club stores starting July
20, becoming the largest company to impose restrictions amid a
surge in coronavirus cases in several U.S. states.
Walmart follows a handful of national chains -- including Best
Buy Co., Starbucks Corp. and Costco Wholesale Corp. -- to require
face masks as companies try to protect its staff and customers
against the pathogen.
About 65% of Walmart's more than 5,000 locations are in areas
where a government mandate on face coverings is in place, said
Dacona Smith, operating chief of Walmart U.S., and Lance De La
Rosa, Sam's Club chief operating officer.
There is widespread scientific and medical consensus that face
masks are critical in slowing the virus's spread. Questions over
wearing them have fueled heated political debates in the U.S. and
led to sometimes violent confrontations between retail workers
enforcing mask rules and customers who refuse to cover their
face.
A patchwork in the U.S. of rules and regulations around their
use has led to varied policies among the nation's biggest
retailers. Most major companies, from big-box retailers to pharmacy
chains, require masks in places where state or local governments
say they are mandatory. Some of those companies prohibit patrons
from entering without a mask, while others request customers wear
one but will still allow them in if they refuse.
Walmart said it will have staff members near the entrance to
remind visitors who aren't wearing a mask and hand out free masks
to those who didn't bring one. "Our associates will be trained on
those exceptions to help reduce friction for the shopper and make
the process as easy as possible for everyone," Messrs. Smith and De
La Rosa said.
Stores will have a single entrance to ensure the requirement's
consistency.
Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 15, 2020 11:25 ET (15:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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