As the world continues to grapple with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, more companies are taking action to ensure the safety of their customers and employees. Massive retail chain Walmart has confirmed that it will soon be requiring all customers to wear masks, or "face coverings" beginning Monday, July 20. Previously, Walmart had only been requiring its employees to wear masks.
According to a statement by Walmart, about 65% of its stores were already requiring face masks due to government mandates, so this will ensure consistency across all its locations. Walmart is waiting until Monday, July 20 to require face coverings because this way it will be able to properly inform its customers of the new rule as well as train its employees on how to handle the new requirements.
Additionally, Walmart is creating a new position in its stores called the Health Ambassador. A Walmart Health Ambassador will be tasked with reminding customers to wear masks when entering the store, as well as trying to "find a solution" for customers who attempt to enter the store without wearing a mask. These Walmart Health Ambassadors will be wearing black polo shirts to help them stand out from the other Walmart employees in the store, and will be stationed at the single entrance that will remain open. These rules will also apply to Sam's Club locations as well.
In its statement, Walmart has acknowledged that there are some people who genuinely can not wear a face covering for certain medical reasons. Walmart employees will be trained to "help reduce friction" for the shopper and "make the process as easy as possible." Walmart is confident that its customers will adapt to the new rules, as it has seen most everyone adhering to the requirement in the states that are already requiring shoppers to wear face masks.
"We appreciate the understanding and cooperation of our customers and members in wearing face coverings to protect their safety and the safety of our associates," Walmart said in its post about the new face mask requirements.
Walmart is one of the top sellers of video game software and hardware in the world, and so it will be interesting to see if these face mask requirements are still in effect when the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles launch later this year.
Source: Walmart