Publix, Trader Joe’s, Walmart will no longer require masks in stores for vaccinated shoppers
Cancel the mask-burning party.
Even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday said fully vaccinated people don’t have to wear face coverings in most situations, most area retailers say they will continue to require customers to be masked.
Winn-Dixie, CVS and Target are among the national chains that say they are keeping their policies in place — at least for now.
Publix, Walmart, Trader Joe’s no longer require masks
The exceptions are Publix, Walmart and Trader Joe’s. Publix announced Friday evening it would no long require masks for fully vaccinated employees or customers beginning on Saturday.
Trader Joe’s had already announced masks would be optional for customers who have gotten necessary shots.
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While the big box stores issued similar statements, simply saying they were reviewing their policies, Palm Beach County Administrator Verdenia Baker gave voice to concerns.
She, too, said she is considering the CDC’s new rules and weighing whether to allow fully vaccinated people to wander county buildings without masks.
But, she said, at this point in the pandemic, with COVID-19 cases still growing and most people still not protected against the disease, changing course scares her.
“The problem is how do you know if someone has been vaccinated?” she said. “People don’t walk around with tags hanging from their chests that say, ‘I’ve been vaccinated.’”
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“So, what do you do? You can’t ask them,” Baker said. “So, do you let them in and put everybody at risk?”
A union for 1.3 million of the nation’s grocery and retail workers criticized the new policy, calling it confusing and unfair to those who have to deal with rule-breaking customers.
Since face-covering rules were put in place, retail workers have been “forced to play mask police for shoppers who are unvaccinated and refuse to follow local COVID safety measures,” said Marc Perrone, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
Under the new rules, he said, workers would get a new job: “vaccination police.”
In a statement, Perrone asked the CDC to clarify “how this new policy will be implemented, how essential workers will be protected, and how these workers will protect the communities they serve.”
Like Baker, he questioned the timing.
“Vaccinations are helping us take control of this pandemic, but we must not let our guard down,” Perrone said.
While new cases have fallen in recent weeks, they haven’t disappeared.
Coronavirus numbers in Florida
On most days in recent weeks, Florida has led the nation in the number of new infections.
On Friday, an additional 3,590 new cases were reported in Florida, including 189 in the county. While a steep drop from April when the state was reporting an average of 5,859 new cases a day, it shows the disease hasn’t gone away.
At the same time, the number of people seeking vaccinations has stalled.
In April, an average of 701,385 in the state were becoming fully vaccinated each week. In the week ending Friday, 332,410 became protected from the coronavirus.
In Palm Beach county, the trend has been the same. In April, an average of 50,991 were getting final shots each week compared with 21,265 in the past seven days.
The falling interest has frustrated local officials, who have set their sights on vaccinating 75% to 85% of the county’s 1.5 million residents to achieve herd immunity.
On Friday, 41.2% of state residents over the age of 15 were fully vaccinated while in the county it was 43.3%. Everyone over the age of 12 can now be vaccinated.
Baker, who has spent the past 14 months coordinating the county’s response to the pandemic, said she worries that without continued vigilance, cases will spike.
“You want to keep your business open,” she said. “If you have a mass infection, you can’t keep your business open.”
Further, she said, while the number of people who get COVID-19 after getting vaccinated is extremely low, it happens.
Dr. Alina Alonso, director of the county’s state-run Health Department, said 375 so-called breakthrough cases have been reported in the county and 4,486 throughout the state.
That is about a half of a percent of all the people who have been vaccinated.
Despite the CDC’s guidance, Baker said she is hopeful county residents will continue to wear masks while inside stores and businesses.
The end of the pandemic is so close, she said she doesn’t want overconfidence to wipe out all the progress that has been made.
“I’m still struggling with it,” she said of the CDC’s recommendation. “I just haven’t made up my mind.”
jmusgrave@pbpost.co
COVID by the numbers
3,590 — New cases logged in Florida on Friday, pushing the seven-day total to 23,605 the lowest weekly increase since Oct. 23.
183 — Additional cases reported in Palm Beach county.
3.05% — Palm Beach county’s daily positivity rate.
4.15% — The statewide daily positivity rate.
2,286,203 — People in Florida who have been diagnosed with the disease, about 10.4% of the population.
146,329 — People in Palm Beach county who have tested positive, about 9.6% of the population.
36,719 — Deaths in Florida, including 71 that were reported Friday.
2,869 — Fatalities in the county, including five that were added on Friday.
7,415,135 — People in Florida who are fully vaccinated. Another 2,066,446 are awaiting second doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.
546,930 — People in the county who are fully vaccinated. Another 146,380 still need second shots.
41.2% — Approximate percentage of state residents over the age of 15 who are fully vaccinated.
43.3% — Approximate percentage of county residents over the age of 15 who are fully vaccinated.
42.9% — Percentage of people in the nation over the age of 12 who are fully vaccinated.
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