WMT Walmart Inc

By Dave Sebastian

Walmart Inc. will require customers to wear face coverings inside its Walmart and Sam's Club stores starting July 20, company executives said, as some U.S. states are seeing a resurgence in Covid-19 cases.

The retailer's move follows that of other national chains, including Best Buy Co., Starbucks Corp. and Costco Wholesale Corp., as they 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, Walmart's chief operating officer, and Lance De La Rosa, Sam's Club chief operating officer.

The executives said the company 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.

Messrs. Smith and De La Rosa said the stores will have a single entrance to ensure the requirement's consistency.

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 faces.

Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 15, 2020 10:50 ET (14:50 GMT)

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