Shoppers who spoke with WPTV on the first day of the mask policy changes for the fully vaccinated seem divided on whether they will or won't wear them anymore.
Trader Joe s first major retailer to drop mask requirement for fully vaccinated customers
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and last updated 2021-05-14 14:57:14-04
Trader Joe s has become the first major retailer to drop its indoor mask requirement for fully vaccinated customers after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised their COVID-19 mask guideline on Thursday.
In an update on its COVID-19 page, the grocery store said they encourage customers to follow the guidance of health officials, including, as appropriate, CDC guidelines that advise customers who are fully vaccinated are not required to wear masks while shopping.
According to USA Today, Walmart and Target are considering making changes to their policies on masks.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Texas lifted its mask mandate, but stores can impose their own policies.
Workers have already seen a backlash as some customers refuse to accept store policies on masks.
A Trader Joe s customer accused the grocer of violating Texas state law after employees denied the man entry without a mask.
The situation highlights how the state s new rules have put many frontline workers in a vulnerable position as they re forced to impose corporate rules without the support of the government.
Last week, Texas became the largest state to lift its mask mandate. On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the mandate would no longer be in place as of March 10. Abbott said he plans to open the state 100%. His decision comes just days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned against reopening states too soon.
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Public messaging in the pandemic has said we need to stay at home.
This ignores people who must report to a work site.
The elevation of making good individual choices in the pandemic needs to end.
I was watching Hulu when I first saw the ad. COVID-19 can spread rapidly, an upbeat, urgent voice said. Or we can make choices that help us stay home and stop the spread.
The advertisement went on to encourage people to have medication delivered via the startup Capsule, to help keep our communities safe. It was an ad targeted to people like me, who had spent the pandemic working from home and binging hours of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The Top 7 Businesses Yakima is Demanding in 2021
With very strong signs that the economy is improving, and vaccinations should be available to everyone by the time summer rolls around, you can be sure that there will be a surge of interest in what Washington State and the Yakima Valley have to offer to those who may have been displaced during the pandemic and are looking to relocate and refresh their lives.
For example, as we re celebrating Women s History Month, out comes the news that Washington ranks as one of the top 10 states to be a woman.
We surveyed listeners a short time back about what businesses they d like to see come to Yakima in 2021. Suggestions were many, and it occurred to me that if locals were asking for these well-known and loved stores and restaurants to set up shop here, it stands to reason that those moving here may well feel the same way.