Google COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate, Biden Returns to Mask Wearing

Google CEO "Office Return Delayed
All Employees Must Complete Vaccination"
Biden Meets Belarus Opposition Leader
Wearing Masks

[Asia Economy reporters Yujin Cho and Hyunwoo Lee] American companies such as Google are mandating COVID-19 vaccinations or mask-wearing. As health authorities issued guidelines stating that even vaccinated individuals need to wear masks indoors, U.S. President Joe Biden has also started wearing a mask again inside the White House.

On the 28th (local time), according to AP News and others, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, announced internal health guidelines mandating employee vaccinations and postponing the office return date to mid-October due to the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant.

In an email sent to more than 130,000 Google employees worldwide, CEO Pichai stated, "We are postponing the office return date from September 1 to October 18, and all employees must be vaccinated before the office reopens."

Google will first apply these health guidelines at its headquarters in Mountain View, California, and other U.S. offices, and plans to expand them to overseas offices in over 40 countries, considering local laws and conditions.

AP News predicted that Google's vaccination mandate could prompt similar measures from other companies. Earlier, Apple changed its office reopening date from September to October considering the Delta variant spread and strongly recommended mask-wearing for store employees. U.S. airlines Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have mandated vaccinations for new employees, and Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs require employees to disclose their vaccination status.

On the same day, President Biden posted a photo on his Twitter account showing him meeting Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya while wearing masks inside the White House. After relaxing mask guidelines on May 13 by the CDC, President Biden had not worn a mask indoors at the White House but resumed mask-wearing after about two months.

Previously, during a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel on the 15th, both leaders met without masks, but after the CDC issued guidelines recommending that even vaccinated individuals wear masks indoors due to high COVID-19 transmission risk, President Biden was reported to have resumed wearing a mask. The CDC has recommended that vaccinated individuals wear masks indoors where the risk of COVID-19 transmission is high.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.