It never hurts to be safe.
Apple is reinstating a requirement for customers to wear masks when visiting an Apple Store in the United States, due to a rise in cases of COVID-19.
While the company was in the process of reducing its social distancing measures in its stores in November, having ended its mask requirement in approximately 100 stores on November 5 before rolling out to others. In the face of pandemic changes, it’s reversing course and bring masks back.
Prior to the rollback, the mandate had been dropped at roughly half of its retail outlets.
Apple has also begun limiting store occupancy at “several locations.” At the height of the pandemic, Apple had changed the design of some stores to enable pickup and drop-off of products, as well as only allowing limited numbers of customers enter stores at a time.
The decision was made in the face of the fast spread of the Omicron variant, which has resulted in a surge of infections in the U.S. and other countries.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via AppleInsider and @markgurman