March 4, 2021 — The National Retail Federation (NRF) has responded to several states lifting mask mandates amid the Covid-19 pandemic by issuing a statement. 

“Retail stores are private entities. If they require you to wear a mask in their stores, and you choose not to, that store can refuse admission or service. Retailers are private businesses, and it is within their right to implement and enforce policies that protect the health and the safety of their employees and their customers,” says Bill Thorne, NRF’s senior VP of communications and public affairs.

“As we have seen throughout the pandemic, states and municipalities have mandated mask policies, yet have failed to provide any enforcement mechanisms, leaving it up to individual business operators to take steps recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and other health experts to prevent the spread of Covid-19,” Thorne continues. “Research shows the vast majority of consumers are not only aware of the importance of wearing a mask, 87% of consumers surveyed are willing to wear a mask if the business required it, even if they had the vaccine. Mandate or not, retailers are on the front lines of the pandemic, safely providing goods and services, and now vaccines, to people across the country. This is not due to government mandates; it is because of their proven commitment to do the right thing for their employees and their neighbors in the communities they serve.”

In EB’s latest Covid-19 Strategies Series, one veteran O.D. shares how her practice pivoted to stay safe during the unique—and unexpected—challenges of Covid-19, including continuing to observe the full-time “mask on” policy.