Two Germany-based discount supermarket chains announced Tuesday that they will no longer require fully vaccinated customers or employees to adhere to COVID-19 mask restrictions.
Aldi, whose U.S. headquarters is based in Batavia, Illinois, stated that the new guidance applies to customers beginning immediately and to employees on May 26, WREX reported.
Unvaccinated Aldi customers, however, will be required to continue social distancing and wearing face coverings while shopping in the chain’s stores, the TV station reported.
Click here to see Aldi’s latest COVID-19 safety measures.
>> Related: Target drops mask policy for vaccinated customers, employees
Meanwhile, Johannes Fieber, president and CEO of Lidl’s U.S. operations, told customers in an email that the company will lift, in accordance with the latest U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, mask requirements for fully vaccinated customers “in all locations where legally allowed.”
>> Coronavirus: CDC eases mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated Americans
“Like you, we look forward to the upcoming summer season and returning to normalcy as more Americans are vaccinated and the outlook with regard to COVID-19 brightens,” Fieber wrote.
In turn, fully vaccinated Lidl customers in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia are now free to shop maskless, but those in Delaware, New Jersey and New York must continue adhering to statewide mask requirements that “remain in place for all customers, vaccinated and unvaccinated, at this time,” Fieber wrote.
>> Walmart, Costco, Trader Joe’s lift mask restrictions for vaccinated customers
About 37% of the population, or 123 million people, have been fully vaccinated in the U.S., according to the CDC.
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Cox Media Group
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