Josh Lipton, a person familiar with the matter said that California-based Apple will require both vaccinated and unvaccinated customers as well as staff members. to wear masks in many of its U.S. retail stores starting on Thursday. The move comes after the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention recommended indoor masking for both fully vaccinated people and kids in places with high Covid-19 transmission rates.
California-based Apple recommended that all people wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status as the delta variant of the virus upends previous assumptions about risk. Apple gained a reputation during the pandemic for making evidence-based decisions about where and when it was safe to operate its retail stores.
The technology company sometimes made decisions ahead of public health orders. After a year of closings and reopenings, every one of the 270 U.S. Apple stores had reopened by March 1. Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the company had pushed back its return to office plans for corporate workers from September to October and that it could be raised back again. Cook also added that they are surveying things daily to conclude whether that is the right answer or not.
California-based Apple continues to perform at a high level despite many of its employees working remotely. Sales rose 36% on an annual basis in the quarter ended in June, the company said earlier this week.On Wednesday, Google announced that it’s also postponing its return-to-work plans until October and that all employees on campus need to be vaccinated.Apple does not require its retail employees to be vaccinated but is encouraging them to do so.
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