Retailers Revisit Mask Debate After New C.D.C. Guidelines

Companies that dealt with shifting recommendations, angry customers and vulnerable employees earlier in the pandemic find themselves again considering mask mandates.

Updated guidance from the government on pandemic precautions has put retailers in a position they thought they were past: deciding whether or not to mandate masks for customers and employees. The new recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call for wearing masks again in places where the virus is spreading fast and cover nearly two-thirds of U.S. counties. Just two months ago, the agency said fully vaccinated people could remove their masks. But the Delta variant of the coronavirus has changed the safety equation and the guidelines. Some companies responded swiftly. Apple announced on Wednesday that it would start requiring employees and customers to wear masks regardless of their vaccination status in more than half of its stores.