Major US Restaurant Now Mandating Masks as Delta Variant Spreads
After a year and a half of working to beat back the COVID-19 pandemic, it appears as though we are headed for yet another period of viral turbulence, spurred on by the ever-persistent delta variant.
This new strain of COVID appears to be far more contagious the the O.G. Wuhan varietal, and packs enough of a viral load to even cause breakthrough infections among the vaccinated. (Luckily, most who are vaccinated show either none or only mild symptoms during their infection).
In some states, such as Texas and Florida, the delta variant isn’t changing much about daily life, and this is largely due to the Governors of these freedom-forward locales.
But businesses large and small are beginning to panic once again, and now one of America’s most popular restaurants is taking a giant leap backward in their viral precautions.
McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N) on Monday confirmed that all its customers and staff will need to start wearing masks again inside its U.S. restaurants in areas with high or substantial transmission, regardless of whether they are vaccinated or not.
The resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the United States due to the Delta variant and the new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that requires fully vaccinated individuals to wear masks have led companies to change their plans on vaccinations and masking.
And they’re not the only ones.
Last week, major companies including Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google, Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) and Facebook Inc (FB.O) said all their U.S. employees must get vaccinated to step into offices. read more
The move sets up a new debate over coronavirus prevention, and will almost certainly draw a great deal of criticism from those who’ve largely seen the delta variant as being overblown in the media.