Walmart announced on Friday that customers and employees will no longer be required to wear face masks inside of its stores — if they are fully vaccinated.
The new rules were sent in a memo to employees, which said that customers can shop without a mask effectively immediately and associates will not need to wear a mask to work starting on Tuesday.
The Hill reports that Walmart did not specify how it will verify that a customer or associate is fully vaccinated, but said it will “continue to request that non-vaccinated customers and members wear face coverings in our stores and clubs. We will update the signage in our facilities to reflect this.”
The report added that the memo specified that “fully vaccinated” means two weeks following the second Pfizer or Moderna dose or two weeks following the single Johnson & Johnson dose.
The announcement comes on the same day that Trader Joes announced that they will no longer require masks in their stores.
The chain’s COVID update said that they are urging “customers to follow the guidance of health officials, including, as appropriate, [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] CDC guidelines that advise customers who are fully vaccinated are not required to wear masks while shopping.”
