All Walmart, Sam’s Club stores to require masks for customers in coronavirus pandemic
All Walmart and Sam’s Club stores across the country will require customers to wear face masks in an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the retailer announced Wednesday.
The requirement goes into effect on Monday. It was announced as the number of COVID-19 cases are on the rise.
In the metro-east, health officials reported a total of 106 new COVID-19 cases throughout the region Tuesday, marking the second day in a row of a total of triple-digit cases. Statewide, over 7,200 people have died in coronavirus-related cases.
“As the number of confirmed cases has spiked in communities across the country recently, so too have the number and types of face covering mandates being implemented,” Walmart officials said in a release. “Currently about 65 percent of our more than 5,000 stores and clubs are located in areas where there is some form of government mandate on face coverings. To help bring consistency across stores and clubs, we will require all shoppers to wear a face covering starting Monday, July 20.”
Here are highlights of the plan:
▪ Walmart has created the role of “health ambassador” and will station them near the entrance to remind customers without a mask of the new requirement. This employee will wear a black polo shirt.
▪ All stores will have a single entrance.
▪ Sam’s Club will follow the same process as Walmart but club members who don’t have a mask will be given one.
“We know it may not be possible for everyone to wear a face covering. 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,” according to statement by Walmart U.S. Chief Operating Officer Dacona Smith and Sam’s Club Chief Operating Officer Lance de la Rosa.
