Apple has now dropped its mask requirement for both corporate and retail employees as local governments reassess their various COVID-19 responses.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
The company told staff that masks for vaccinated corporate employees are now optional at offices in regions where local indoor-mask mandates have been eliminated. It also told retail staff at a small number of locations that masks for employees will become optional on Friday. Over time — as more regions drop their mandates and cases decline — masks will become optional for employees at more locations.
The changes come a week after the company dropped its mask mandate for customers at many locations…
The change in policy may imply that Apple is again nearing the announcement of a return-to-office deadline for corporate employees. The company last attempted to set a deadline in February, only to scrap the date during the omicron surge. Other companies, including Alphabet Inc.’s Google, have set an April deadline for their staffers.
MacDailyNews Take: Certainly, this period in history — COVID-19 and the various and sundry reactions to it (rational and irrational) — will be studied far and wide, especially by psychologists and sociologists.
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