By Jaewon Kang
Supermarket workers are back in the middle of a national
conversation about face masks.
Many supermarket chains have eased rules for wearing masks in
stores since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on
May 13 that fully vaccinated people no longer need to cover their
faces indoors. Kroger Co. said it dropped mask requirements for
fully vaccinated customers and employees starting Thursday, unless
local rules dictate otherwise. Walmart Inc., Target Corp. and other
grocery sellers have also lifted mask mandates for vaccinated
people.
Face masks were embraced over the past year as one of the most
effective ways to prevent the transmission of Covid-19,
particularly between people in enclosed spaces. They have also been
a point of contention and conflicts that often spilled into the
purview of front-line workers. Now, some workers say the end of
mask mandates has put them in a new position of having to explain
their employers' mask policies, manage anxious shoppers and assess
whether unmasked customers are indeed vaccinated, all while
potentially risking their own health.
Elaine Lyon, a 60-year-old cashier at an Albertsons Cos.-owned
Safeway store in Seattle, said she has seen more customers in her
store without masks since the CDC's announcement. One customer told
her he didn't have to wear a mask anymore. Another threatened her
last weekend after she asked the customer to pull her mask up over
her nose, Ms. Lyon said.
"One of the things not taken into account is how many people we
see," Ms. Lyon said. "We have people at home who are not
vaccinated."
She plans to wear a mask until all her family members are fully
vaccinated; her son has received the first of two doses, she said,
and her husband had his second dose less than two weeks ago. Her
daughter, who visits once or twice a week, hasn't been
vaccinated.
Albertsons said vaccinated employees and customers weren't
required to wear masks starting on Friday. Face coverings will be
required for employees and encouraged for customers who aren't
vaccinated, Albertsons said.
Some 39% of people in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated
against Covid-19, according to CDC data. President Biden is aiming
to get at least one shot to 70% of the adult population by July 4,
but hesitancy remains widespread.
Sharelle Claiborne, a deli clerk at a Kroger-owned Fred Meyer
store in Burien, Wash., said she hasn't decided whether to get
vaccinated. She said that she is worried about exposing herself and
her family through her work at the store. "I feel anxious," the
31-year-old said.
Kroger said that employees need to provide proof of vaccination
to work without masks and unvaccinated employees will be required
to wear coverings. Dr. Marc Watkins, the company's chief medical
officer, said Kroger will continue to work to protect employees and
customers as the pandemic wanes. The chain has been offering $100
to employees who show proof of vaccination.
Masks have become a flashpoint at many supermarkets through the
pandemic. Some customers refused to wear masks or to put them on
properly, leaving store employees to apprehend shoppers and manage
confrontations.
Workers said changing rules over masks are adding to that
burden.
Robert Newell, president at the United Food Commercial Workers
International Union's New York chapter, said the union is
encouraging supermarkets to keep mask requirements in place because
there's no easy way to tell whether someone is vaccinated.
"If I was working in a contained space and a person came up to
me without a mask, I would ask, 'Can I see your card?' I don't have
the right to ask, but I will," Mr. Newell said, referring to
vaccination cards.
Ben Goshorn, an employee in the meat department at a Food Lion
store in Charlotte, N.C., has been wearing a mask during his
workweeks this past year. For the past six months, which included a
national surge in cases, he has worn two masks to be doubly
cautious. Food Lion, owned by Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV, said
vaccinated employees and customers weren't required to wear masks
starting May 20.
Mr. Goshorn, who is vaccinated, has concerns beyond customers.
He said he would feel comfortable working without a mask if it was
OK with his co-workers, but those conversations have proved
awkward. Some people don't want to talk about their vaccination
status.
"It's a charged conversation," he said.
Shoppers can be reluctant to share supermarket aisles with
maskless people, too. Bobbi Barnett, a housing analyst for New York
City, said she made extra trips to nearby grocery stores before the
state dropped mask requirements for vaccinated people in many
indoor settings on Wednesday.
She said she plans to shop more often at farmers markets and
higher-end shops like Zabar's that tend to be less crowded. Ms.
Barnett, who is vaccinated, said she won't be going to the grocery
store maskless anytime soon.
"I'm just going to wait a little bit,' she said.
Write to Jaewon Kang at jaewon.kang@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 22, 2021 05:44 ET (09:44 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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