Amazon will no longer require employees in its warehouse facilities across the U.S. to wear face masks as protection against COVID-19, the company told workers.
CNBC reported Monday that the e-commerce giant told employees in an internal notice on Sunday that masks would now be optional for operations employees, regardless of vaccination status. The change in policy goes into effect on Tuesday.
“This announcement is an exciting step in our path to normal operations,” the notice stated, according to CNBC.
The company said it strongly recommends that unvaccinated employees continue wearing a mask.
Earlier in February, Amazon said that vaccinated employees could stop wearing masks at work, but face coverings would remain required for anyone entering facilities who is not fully vaccinated and for employees who have not logged their vaccination status in Amazon’s A to Z internal reporting tool.
Since then, COVID infection and hospitalization rates have continued to drop sharply across the country.
The federal government loosened mask guidelines last week, but Gov. Jay Inslee and Washington state are still waiting until March 21 to lift an indoor mask mandate for most places.
GeekWire has reached out to Amazon for details on the latest policy shift and how it impacts corporate and tech employees. We will update this story when we hear back.
from GeekWire https://www.geekwire.com/2022/amazon-tells-u-s-warehouse-workers-masks-are-now-optional-regardless-of-vaccination-status/