Apple urging retail staff to wear masks again even if they're vaccinated

Amid a surge in more infectious Covid variants, Apple is recommending that its brick-and-mortar Apple Store staff begin wearing masks again.

As the more transmissible Delta variant continues to spread, Apple is urging that its retail staffers start wearing masks whether they are fully vaccinated or not, Bloomberg reported in a story update Tuesday. Retail workers must also comply with any regional health regulations, including mask mandates.

Apple had dropped its own internal mask mandate and eased other restrictions in May and June.

Staff at AppleInsider can confirm that Apple retail employees, vaccinated or not, have again started donning masks across the U.S.

Apple CEO Tim Cook had told staffers in June that they should expect to be returning to in-person work for a few days a week by September. The company recently walked back those plans until October at the earliest.

The company is said to be working on a new hybrid work model for retail staffers dubbed "Retail Flex." The new model would see brick-and-mortar staff work some weeks at Apple Store locations and other weeks at home conducting customer service and online sales tasks.

In the U.S., both hospitalizations and deaths are now increasing, especially among the unvaccinated. The more infectious Delta variant now accounts for 83% of new Covid cases in the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday.

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78 Comments

sdw2001 23 Years · 17460 comments

About 3 years ago

It is amazing how we just keep repeating the insanity. We know that mask mandates and lockdowns don’t work. This is unequivocal. That is not to say masks don’t work at all, but the way we’re wearing them clearly will not be effective. We aren’t talking about wearing an N 95 or better mask when entering a high risk environment like a medical facility or a nursing home. We’re talking about wearing a piece of cloth or paper across your face while you shop for your new AirPods. It’s not going to do anything.

Xed 4 Years · 2896 comments

sdw2001 said:

It is amazing how we just keep repeating the insanity. We know that mask mandates and lockdowns don’t work. This is unequivocal. That is not to say masks don’t work at all, but the way we’re wearing them clearly will not be effective. We aren’t talking about wearing an N 95 or better mask when entering a high risk environment like a medical facility or a nursing home. We’re talking about wearing a piece of cloth or paper across your face while you shop for your new AirPods. It’s not going to do anything.

Sure they do. It's asshole republicans who can't seem to follow simple rules that keep exacerbating this problem.

I now see plenty of businesses saying that if you're vaccinated you don't have to wear a mask, but for unvaccinated people to wear them. Are unvaccinated people going to wear masks? Not the ones that I know.

canucklehead 18 Years · 403 comments

sdw2001 said:

It is amazing how we just keep repeating the insanity. We know that mask mandates and lockdowns don’t work. This is unequivocal. That is not to say masks don’t work at all, but the way we’re wearing them clearly will not be effective. We aren’t talking about wearing an N 95 or better mask when entering a high risk environment like a medical facility or a nursing home. We’re talking about wearing a piece of cloth or paper across your face while you shop for your new AirPods. It’s not going to do anything.

And it’s this type of uninformed comment that has the US in the situation it’s in.

N95 masks are designed to minimize incoming exposure and transmission. Proper cloth masks are designed to reduce transmission. They help capture the viruses encapsulated in micro droplets as you breathe out, reducing the chance of a contagious person from spreading the virus.

Mask wearing has been proven to help reduce spread and the data can be easily seen when comparing places with and without mask mandates (along with how seriously the people take these rules).

mike1 10 Years · 3437 comments

sdw2001 said:

It is amazing how we just keep repeating the insanity. We know that mask mandates and lockdowns don’t work. This is unequivocal. That is not to say masks don’t work at all, but the way we’re wearing them clearly will not be effective. We aren’t talking about wearing an N 95 or better mask when entering a high risk environment like a medical facility or a nursing home. We’re talking about wearing a piece of cloth or paper across your face while you shop for your new AirPods. It’s not going to do anything.

Simply not true.

tbsteph 17 Years · 95 comments

Xed said:

sdw2001 said:

It is amazing how we just keep repeating the insanity. We know that mask mandates and lockdowns don’t work. This is unequivocal. That is not to say masks don’t work at all, but the way we’re wearing them clearly will not be effective. We aren’t talking about wearing an N 95 or better mask when entering a high risk environment like a medical facility or a nursing home. We’re talking about wearing a piece of cloth or paper across your face while you shop for your new AirPods. It’s not going to do anything.

Sure they do. It's asshole republicans who can't seem to follow simple rules that keep exacerbating this problem.

I now see plenty of businesses saying that if you're vaccinated you don't have to wear a mask, but for unvaccinated people to wear them. Are unvaccinated people going to wear masks? Not the ones that I know.

Xed has it right. There is volumes of scientific data that clearly show masks do nothing to prevent the spreading or catching a virus. Of course many will never see that sort of evidence with the news media and social media blocking access to such information. "Sure they do" is an asinine statement from someone truly uninformed. Masks are being used as a control device - not for any medical reason.