Walmart said Friday that it will begin requiring masks for store workers in high-risk counties in the U.S. as determined by the latest CDC rankings, effective immediately.
Shoppers are strongly encouraged to wear masks in stores, but they will not be required to, the retailer said in a memo sent to staff.
Walmart added it will review store mask rules on a weekly basis from here.
The shift in policy comes just a day after Apple began requiring both vaccinated and unvaccinated customers, as well as staff members, to wear masks in many of its shops across the United States.
Businesses including Macy’s, Gap and Kroger have told CNBC they are reviewing the new CDC guidance and could issue updated rules in the coming days.
On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a fresh recommendation that calls for wearing face masks again in areas of the country where the Covid-19 virus is spreading the most rapidly. That covers about two-thirds of all counties in the United States.
The decision came roughly two months after the CDC in May said vaccinated individuals could go without masks. The delta variant, however, has driven cases back up and led the agency to reevaluate.
