Apple Removes Masks... Starting at Over 100 US Apple Stores

Bloomberg Mark Geoman Report

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] As the United States enters the With-Corona era, Apple is pushing to lift the 'mandatory mask-wearing' guideline for customers inside Apple Stores. The vaccination status of customers entering the stores will also not be separately checked.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman on the 5th (local time), Apple will introduce this new policy at about 100 of its approximately 270 stores across the United States starting from that day. The number of applicable stores will be gradually expanded.

According to Bloomberg, Apple's EHS (Environment, Health, and Safety) team decided together with management that updating the mask guidelines for store customers is safe.

Apple allows retail store entry regardless of customers' vaccination status and does not require vaccination certificates. However, some areas where mask-wearing is mandatory, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, are exceptions. All employees, not just customers, are required to wear masks.

Apple plans to continue monitoring local guidelines and COVID-19 data during the holiday period and adjust policies as necessary.

Previously, retail stores were considered a key channel for Apple's face-to-face communication but were impacted by COVID-19. Since the outbreak last year, Apple has repeatedly closed and reopened stores. The number of customers inside stores was limited, and operations were restricted mainly to services for product repairs and pickups.

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