Retailers put brakes on Texas and Mississippi move to scrap mask mandates

Texas and Mississippi are getting pushback from major retailers as the governors move ahead with plans to reopen businesses at 100% capacity and drop mask mandates. Walgreens, CVS Health, Kroger, Aldi, Target, and H-E-B are among the companies that say their stores in those states will continue to require shoppers to cover their faces and follow other pandemic safety protocols. “It is within their right to implement and enforce policies that protect the health and the safety of their employees and their customers,” a spokesperson for the National Retail Federation said in a statement, noting that retail stores are private entities and may turn away customers who flout their policies. Kroger said its mask requirement will remain in place until all of its frontline grocery workers are vaccinated, while many of the other chains indicated that they are complying with CDC guidance.