Starting Aug. 12, face masks will be mandatory for customers shopping at Walmart Canada locations.
Felicia Fefer, manager of corporate affairs for Walmart Canada said in an email statement that all customers and employees in any Walmart store must now wear a mask, even if there is not a government mandate to wear a face-covering in place.
“Health Canada has identified that, when worn properly, a person wearing a mask/face covering can reduce the spread of his or her own infectious respiratory droplets,” Fefer wrote.
“In addition, over 60 percent of our more than 400 stores are in regions of the country where there is some form of local government mandate on face coverings.
Some areas of Canada do have made face coverings mandatory in public places, such as Toronto.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has not imposed a mask-requirement for public places in B.C. However, starting on Aug. 24, BC Transit will be requiring face masks or coverings.
Fefer said Walmart customers have done a great job following face-covering requirements in those jurisdictions where it is mandated by the local government.
“We trust that customers in the rest of our stores where we are initiating this the policy will respect and follow it and will bring their own face coverings when they shop,” she wrote.
Fefer also wrote there are other measures are being taken at Walmart Canada locations to limit the spread of COVID-19, including:
- Increased cleaning throughout our stores.
- Wellness checks that include a temperature check for all associates at the start of each shift.
- Limiting the number of customers shopping in the store at one time.
- Cleaning shopping carts.
- Encouraging regular handwashing and to regularly clean their work areas (including checkouts).
- Installing plexi-glass dividers at registers, customer service desks and in our pharmacies.
- Introducing floor markings and one-way aisles to create physical distancing.
Masks were made mandatory at Walmart stores in the United States in July.
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