The Kroger Company and Walmart are now requiring shoppers to wear face masks in all of their stores.  Kristal Howard, Head of Cooperate Communications and Media Relations at Kroger noted "with the increase in COVID-19 cases across the country and as a leading grocer we are committed to doing our part to help reduce the spread of virus".  She added "as an employer, grocery provider and community partner we have a responsibility to help keep our associates, customers and community safe” She cited the CDC recommendations for wearing a facial covering, combined with social distancing and frequent hand washing as scientifically proven to reduce the spread of COVID-19.  Effective April 26th, all Kroger store employees were required to wear masks.

The Kroger action was supported by the United Food and Commercial Workers International, representing many Kroger employees.  UFCW President, Mark Perrone stated, "Kroger's action to mandate masks for customers is long overdue and an important step that UFCW has been calling for since the beginning of the pandemic".

The Walmart requirement to wear masks will take effect on July 20th and follows a July 14th recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other retail chains imposing face-mask requirements include Cosco Wholesale, Dollar Tree, BJ's Wholesale Club, Best Buy, Kohl's, Apple Store and Starbucks.

The National Retail Federation hailed the Walmart and Kroger announcements characterized as "a tipping point in the public health debate". 

There is a growing realization in the U.S. that COVID-19 will not simply disappear and until citizens are protected by an effective vaccine, public health precautions including wearing masks in public, social distancing and avoiding crowds are the only proven prevention measures.  The fight against COVID-19 would be more effective if testing for the presence of the virus could be more universally available and yield a result within 24 hours. This is critical to implement quarantine of infected individuals irrespective of symptoms and to initiate tracing as implemented successfully in South Korea, Israel, Germany and Taiwan.