Walmart, Trader Joe's and Costco say vaccinated customers don't have to wear masks in stores

CNN BUSINESS ^ | Updated 6:12 PM ET 5/14/21 | By Danielle Wiener-Bronner and Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Business

[conservative98]

Friday afternoon, Walmart (WMT) executives sent out a letter to Walmart and Sam's Club stores as well as supply chain facilities encouraging employees to get vaccinated. The letter noted that as of Friday, "vaccinated customers and members are welcome to shop without a mask," while unvaccinated shoppers are asked to keep wearing masks in stores.

Employees who are fully vaccinated will be permitted to work without masks starting May 18, the letter said, adding that some workers may have to continue to wear masks for health or sanitation reasons. The letter added that "masks will also continue to be required by some city and state ordinances, and we will follow those requirements."

At Costco, vaccinated customers can shop without masks in US locations where there are no state or local mask mandates.

"We will allow members and guests who are fully vaccinated to enter Costco without a face mask or face shield," in those areas, the company said in a message posted to its website Friday. "Costco continues to recommend that all members and guests, especially those who are at higher risk, wear a mask or shield." Costco won't require proof that customers have been vaccinated. Instead, the message said, "we ask for members' responsible and respectful cooperation with this revised policy."

All customers will still have to wear face coverings in Costco's pharmacy and other healthcare settings, the company specified. They will also have to wear them if they are in stores in locations where there are mask mandates.

At Trader Joe's, "we 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," the grocery chain said in a statement on its website Friday.

[Jane Long]

We haven’t worn masks....in ANY of these stores.....in MONTHS.

[lightman]

“great in public bathrooms, “

Oh really?

Chew on this:

There is a lot of REAL science indicating that COVID—like cruise ship noroviruses—is spread primarily be fecal to oral transmission.

Let that sink in.

Remember about a year ago when there were a few quickly buried stories about communities in the New England states that were going to start testing sewerage for COVID?

Let that sink in.

Now consider this: In many States (Pennsylvania and Ohio for sure) the mask mandates are explicit that those in restaurants MUST wear a mask INTO THE RESTROOM where of course that cloth will absorb all toilet odors and other zhit.

Let that sink in.

Then the patron MUST wear the zhit laden mask back into the restaurant so that with every exhale the patrons innocently eating pancakes can get a dose of the restroom zhit.

Let that sink in.

Think this is an overactive imagination?

Check this out:

https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2021/04/24/aerosolized-pathogens-toilet-flushes-public-bathrooms-study/5451619211353/

[catnipman]

“And what type of PROOF is needed that you have or have not been vaccinated?”

none that i could tell ... shopped in Walmart & Sam’s wearhouse today without a mask and nothing but yawns ... and i’m not vaccinated ...

not possible for corporations to trains an every turning-over bunch of minimum wage workers to tell if someone is vaccinated or not based on infinitely different paperwork from locality to locality, not to mention the lines of customers that would back up into the parking lots ...

i think retailers large and small have finally decided to quit being unpaid enforcement agents for fascist governments ...

[GranTorino]

Awesome.

[Grampa Dave]

Freepers seem to be liking your great comment re masks as my new tagline:

Don’t mask! Don’t tell! by GranTorino!!

[Grampa Dave]

“retailers large and small have finally decided to quit being unpaid enforcement agents for fascist governments!...

Then, remember my new tagline, courtesy of GranTorino!

Don’t mask! Don’t tell! by GranTorino!!

[Pollard]

"vaccinated customers and members are welcome to shop without a mask," while unvaccinated shoppers are asked to keep wearing masks in stores.

LOL, I've been going to walmart without a mask since this thing began. I was one of the few at first but now most people I see at walmart are maskless. Walmart peeled those stupid arrows off the floor too because people were ignoring them. Bunch of non-conformists around here.

[Arm_Bears]

Well, yippee-skip—I don’t patronize any of them.

[American Infidel]

I went into several stores today (5/28), which was the first day of the end of the NJ state mask mandate.

I wore no mask and had no problem at: ShopRite, Target, and HomeDepot. Unfortunately; most people in the stores were still wearing their symbolic face diapers, but no one gave me any problems. To each their own.

My only issue - ironically - occurred at WalMart. Upon getting through the entrance, the employee working the door told me I had to wear a mask, and I politely reminded her that the state mandate ended today.

She looked at me puzzled (perhaps a language barrier) and tried to give me a mask while insisting I still needed to wear one. I politely declined, and went on about my business.

I was probably the only one in the store without a face diaper, but no one gave me any static. I paid for my items and showed my receipt to the same employee at the door, who just waved me through and didn't utter another word about my lack of a face covering. I didn't expect any issues at WalMart, so perhaps it was just this particular employee.