Today was the first day of no mask mandate in MA and I went shopping this morning at BJs. There was a big sign at the entrance saying masks were required which surprised me because I thought they had announced that they weren’t requiring them. So, ok I wore my mask. The vast majority of shoppers were wearing them. Only a handful weren’t and they were all older men(?). But what really surprised me was that only about a quarter of the employees were wearing masks. So much for the theory that retail employees are scared of people without masks and we need to protect them. I also am guessing that masks weren’t really required but no one had removed the sign at the main entrance.
From Ma Gov:
State officials also noted that local communities or individual businesses may choose to continue requiring masks. Baker urged residents to “be respectful and to follow those requirements.”
“Just as many residents will continue to wear masks on a go-forward basis, some restaurants, stores, and venues will continue to ask you to do so at their place of business.” Mike Kennealy, the state’s housing and economic development secretary, said Monday.
“Let’s all pledge to respect each other’s right to get back to normal at our own pace and in our own way,” Kennealy added.
Stores not requiring masks:
- Best Buy
- BJ’s
- Chipotle
- Costco
- CVS
- Hannaford’s
- Home Depot
- Kohl’s
- Lowe’s
- Office Depot
- Roche Bros
- Simon malls
- Starbucks
- Stop & Shop
- Target
- Trader Joe’s
- Walmart
This is great!!
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I went to Costco today. The signs said vaccinated people didn’t need to wear masks. I would estimate over 90% of people were wearing masks including all staff.
So went to home depot A on one side of town. Barely anyone was wearing masks. the next day went to home Depot B on the other side of town. Everyone was mostly wearing masks. Social-economics the same around both stores.
Do you have any assumptions, being a local why that may be?
no I dont, which is why I am baffled; maybe it was time of day. I went to A on a friday evening and B on a saturday afternoon. I do think that people also see what others are doing and follow. When I walk into a store and dont see masks on I definately would not put mine on being fully vaccinated, but if I see everyone wearing one, I feel like I am being a bad human being and might put mine on.
Could be a bit of both. Peer pressure goes a long way and is why I think a lot of people who didn’t believe in masks wore them before. But our Walmart was much like that even before the mandates were in effect. Sunday mornings had very good compliance. Weekday evenings were worse and Friday nights were particularly terrible.
I went to the grocery store yesterday and I didn’t notice a mask sign, but wore mine out of habit. Everyone I saw had a mask on. I know at the Kroger chain they aren’t required but not sure about Safeway.
It’s really not a big deal.
I did notice at the Chick-fil-A drive through that the workers did not wear masks. They really have it down to a science and I was thru in about 3 minutes.
Masks are still required in my area whether vaccinated or not. I did get a email from the public library that they will reopen next week with a lot of restrictions. Masks, limited 30 minute visit just one time a day, tables social distanced, no side by side assistance from staff. They also said even once state or county lifts the mandate the library will still require patrons to be masked.
What I have noticed is that a lot less people are wearing masks while out walking. We walk at a local park trail and Friday we saw few masks where a few weeks back it was probably 90% masked.
Wow! I’m surprised your library has been closed this entire time? Ours has been open since last June. For awhile the computers weren’t allowed to be used or to sit at a table, but at some point that was lifted.
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latest update. My husband went back to the first home depot. he said he saw more clients in masks than what we saw friday night, but it was still 50/50. he reports that Trader joes, everyone still was pretty much wearing a mask.
Keep in mind that we live in GA, which is one of the states that never pushed the mask issue .
Personally I do find it strange these days when I see people wearing masks while driving alone in their cars, or outdoors where its not that crowded. its going to take a long time.
We went to several stores today. Everyone at the local grocery store and Bed Bath & Beyond were masked. I saw a few faces at Home Depot and World Market.
Just got home from the grocery store. It had been nearly a week. Last time 90% of customers and all of the employees were masked. Today about 50% of each had them on. I started noticing that many of the unmasked were in large family groups and dressed nicer than the average customer. Then it dawned on me that most of them had probably come directly from the huge church across the road, doIng a little shopping on the way home. Why wear a mask in the grocery store if you have just been singing and hugging and Amen-ing with 500 of your closest friends?
I may need to only shop early on weekday mornings for a while.
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Do people who attend services at this huge church tend to be vaccine refusers?
Why how did you guess?
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I was in the grocery store this morning and I’d say it was 75% masked and 25% unmasked.
I was unmasked and was comfortable with my decision to be un-masked.
I went to a brewery this afternoon and I don’t think anyone was masked.
Went grocery shopping yesterday morning. I’d say the tide has certainly turned. The week before at this same store the mask usage was quite a bit higher. This week it was probably 80% unmasked for customers and 70% for workers. I have gone without a mask wherever possible. It definitely varies by store/town/crowd, etc, but things are trending towards less masks in most places.
I have the exact same concern!
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Mask compliance was probably about 50 % in my town while the mandates were in place, except places like beauty shops and doctor’s offices where you pretty much had to comply. I would say it was probably at least 80% at the stores I went to when in Florence (about 50 miles away) and honestly expected that some of the places like Target or Publix might keep it in place even after our governor lifted the mandate recently. I have been to Florence the last two Sunday afternoon’s and basically almost no one is wearing a mask and the stores no longer have the signs up and most of the employees are no longer wearing them. I think my older son did say he had to wear one at the dentist’s office last week. Almost no one is wearing them in the stores in my town, not sure about the beauty shop or doctor’s office since I haven’t been there in the last few weeks. There is one older lady at church that still wears hers sometimes. Otherwise they are pretty much gone, but I do think more people are respectful of people’s personal space now.