It has definitely been a bit of a rollercoaster for Apple Store employees as far as the mask mandates are concerned. The employees have to keep at the ready, it seems, to keep adjusting to whether or not the mask mandate is in place or not. And for employees at roughly 100 stores in the United States, the masks are coming back up.
That’s according to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, who attached the news tidbit along with a larger story regarding Apple’s delay for three-day in-office work weeks for corporate employees. The tweet is pretty straightforward and short, saying that Apple is also “reinstating its mask mandate at about 100 US retail stores today,” adding that the mandate is meant for employees.
Which means that, at these stores, customers visiting won’t be required to don a mask if they want to enter the premises.
Apple has been adapting to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as it sees necessary. Earlier this year, for example, the company finally brought back the in-store Today at Apple sessions for the first time since the pandemic began. And, around the same time, Apple dropped the mask mandate for corporate and retail employees.
Apple is also reinstating its mask mandate at about 100 US retail stores today — for employees. https://t.co/2Y3SYHDHfz
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) May 17, 2022
As each surge took place, Apple either closed stores or enforced mask mandates. And, indeed, as cases in the United States start to climb yet again, around 100 U.S. Apple Stores are adapting to the change. Which means the mask mandate has been brought back, albeit probably for a short period of time.
Related, Apple informed corporate employees that they must go back to wearing masks when they are in common areas. As mentioned above, the company is sticking with the two-day in-office work schedule, delaying the change to three-day in-office work week.