Several national retailers -with stores in the Rio Grande Valley – have once again mandated their employees to wear face masks while at work because of the increasing levels of the COVID-19 activity due to the Delta variant.
The stores include Walgreens, Walmart, Target, Home Depot and Kohls.
The mask mandates are for associates in areas in counties with substantial or high risk of transmission, as identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hidalgo and Cameron counties have experienced increases in COVID-19 cases following the Fourth of July holiday. On Wednesday, Hidalgo County reported 443 new cases bringing its total positive cases to 99,735 with 2,952 coronavirus related deaths, while Cameron County reported 146 new cases on Tuesday bringing its total cases to 44,963. It has had 1,713 COVID-19 related deaths.
The retailers are also encouraging its customers, including those who are vaccinated, to wear face covers in the stores to help limit the spread of the coronavirus.
The retailers announced the updated regulations on their website. The changes occurred at the beginning of this week.
