Good news! Apple to begin dropping its mask requirement for retail store customers
Mark Gurman of Bloomberg is reporting that starting Friday more than 100 of Apple’s U.S. retail stores will drop the requirement that customers wear a mask when they visit. Apple has had one of the strictest COVID policies of any major retailer. In more good news, this new return to normal won’t be dependent on vaccination status (or lack thereof). The report reproduces an internal memo as follows:
After careful review, the Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) team, along with leadership, have determined it’s safe to update our guidance on masks for customers in your store. The positive trends in vaccinations, testing, and case counts for your area have made this change possible.
They’re answering this in the most politically correct way possible, but their stringent COVID policies have surely suppressed sales greatly in Apple’s retail division, and at some point even Apple’s wealth of Midas won’t prevent them from pining for pre-COVID revenue. Apple closed its stores entirely for months, and for a time after they re-opened they limited how long you could spend in the store, required masking, and mandated social distancing in lines. For a while they even had what they called an “Express Storefront” that made you feel like you were visiting someone in prison when you went to pick up a HomePod mini at your local Apple Store.
The health and safety of our teams and customers remains our highest priority. We will continue to monitor local guidance and Covid data in your area throughout the holiday season, and make adjustments as needed.
So to no one’s surprise they’re threatening to close stores and re-impose mask mandates again whenever they decide it’s “necessary” to do so.
The mask mandate will continue for Apple retail employees. “Team members have longer interactions in store and are in close proximity throughout the day,” according to the memo.
One of the most tragic things about Corporate America’s response to COVID is that low-wage retail workers have been forced to wear masks all day long even in parts of the country where most people are choosing not to wear masks. I think it’s commendable for companies to allow their employees to wear masks if they choose to, but it’s heartbreaking to see people who otherwise would not choose to “mask up” having to bear that burden.
It’s wonderful news that many of us will no longer be asked to wear a mask when we visit our local Apple Store, but Apple should do the right thing and allow their employees to make their own choices about vaccination, testing, and masks.