Businesses large and small reinstate mask mandates as coronavirus cases surge

Businesses large and small — from McDonald's and Home Depot to local yoga studios — are reimposing mask mandates on workers and customers as U.S. COVID-19 cases soar again. Bars, gyms and restaurants across the country are even requiring vaccines to even get inside the establishments.

After a largely mask-free summer, it's a reversal no one wanted to see, brought on by the fast-spreading Delta variant and new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But business owners and workers say they will do what they can to keep their doors open and not slow the economic gains of the last few months. The Delta variant is a potentially lethal blow to restaurants already facing higher food costs, labor shortages and "sitting on 17 months of debt from closures," Erika Polmar, executive director of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, said. "We are in a world of hurt."