Walmart to require workers to wear masks starting Monday

Walmart soon will require employees across the country to wear face masks to work to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

According to a statement posted to the company’s website on Friday, employees will be required to wear masks starting on Monday. This includes employees who work in Walmart and Sam’s Club stores, distribution centers, fulfillment centers and corporate offices. The company also will be “encouraging” customers to wear face coverings while shopping.

“We have evolved our policy on face coverings from optional to mandatory as public health guidance has shifted,” the statement said. “Although most state and local governments do not mandate the use of face coverings in public settings, the CDC has reported that recent studies show a significant portion of individuals with the virus lack symptoms and can transmit the virus.”

Four employees at a Walmart in North Las Vegas, at 3950 W. Lake Mead Blvd., have tested positive for COVID-19, a store source told the Review-Journal on April 14. Management informed workers but has not disclosed the last day the infected employee worked or the employee’s department, the source said.

It was unclear Saturday if employees at any other Walmart in the Las Vegas Valley had tested positive for the virus.

A spokeswoman for Walmart said last week that the company began to impose a 20 percent cap on shoppers, but local Walmart employees and shoppers have told the Review-Journal that some stores in the valley still are packed.

Walmart posted to its website Friday that employees can bring their own face mask to work “as long as it meets certain guidelines,” or the company will be providing the masks, the statement said.

The company began providing optional face masks for employees on April 9, according to its website. Walmart announced March 31 that it would begin temperature checks for employees reporting to work, and anyone with a temperature of 100 degrees or more would be asked to go home until they are fever-free for three days.

Walmart also announced Friday that it would extend its emergency-leave policy through the end of May. According to the company’s website, the policy “allows associates to stay home if they have any COVID-19 related symptoms, concerns, illness or are quarantined.”

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.