Walmart announces all customers required to wear face coverings

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Walmart is to implement face mask-wearing to all its customers nationwide to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
• The retail giant is now among the other stores to be strict in wearing a face mask, Costco and Best Buy has already implemented measures earlier.
• NBC News reports that there are now more than 3.4 million COVID-19 cases in the U.S, with 137,000 dying due to the bug.

On Wednesday, retail giant Walmart said it would require customers to wear face masks in its more than 5,000 stores to curb the coronavirus’s spread.

Starting July 20, the company would mandate its patrons to use face coverings at all stores, such as  Sam’s Club. Walmart said it would give free masks for customers who did not bring one,  and covers are also available for purchase inside the store.

Walmart Chief Operating Officer Dacona Smith, together with Sam’s Club Chief Operating Officer Lance De La Rosa, said on a joint statement that they would take the necessary step to maintain safety on its customers and stores.

The retail chain joins many establishments to implement measures about wearing face masks when visiting their stores. Around May, Costco already required its crew and customers to utilize facial masks. Starbucks started with its face-covering directive within the week throughout its 9,000 shops. Best Buy is set to oblige all of its consumers to use face masks next week.

While there is no countrywide restriction in using a face mask, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised citizens to wear face protection in public. According to an analysis released by the CDC on Tuesday, the measure has proven to curb the spread of the disease.

However,  wearing facial protections has become a cause of the issue nationwide, as some people see it as a violation of their constitutional rights.

President Donald Trump has continuously told the public only to wear a mask if whenever they prefer to. However, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious disease expert in the U.S, said that using masks can reduce the risk transmission of the disease.

Many retailers avoided implementing in their stores the face mask restrictions amidst the protests. But the story has changed the last few weeks because following the new COVID-19 infection rise across the nation, and states dropped all plans to reopen because of the apparent recent wave of the virus.

According to the data acquired by NBC News, there are now over 3.4 million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S, with 137,000 deaths.

Walmart says 65 percent of the company’s group of stores and discount clubs have stores located in areas where a face mask measure is implemented.

A retail industry trade group, the Retail Leaders Industry Association, urged on governors last week to push statewide rulings that require individuals to wear masks in public.

Source: AOL