The nation’s largest retailers are now requiring the use of face masks. “The National Retail Federation has encouraged retailers to set mask policies to protect shoppers and employees,” says USA Today. Walmart, Target, CVS, and Walgreens are the biggest stores to announce  mask requirements nationwide. They are joining the growing list of businesses demanding face-covering requirements as coronavirus cases rise. Retailers requiring masks isn’t new, especially in areas with an increasing number of cases. Shoppers have been required to wear masks to go into Costco,  Apple, and much more stores nationwide since early May. 

Governors all over the nation are saying, “Without universal mask mandates that are fully enforced, hundreds of thousands of Americans will continue to get sick.” To have more masks being worn, more and more retailers have started selling masks. Places like Athletea, Etsy, Old Navy, Adidas, Amazon, American Eagle, Forever 21, and many more places have started selling masks to shoppers. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “If the American public were to wear masks, the pandemic could be brought down in less than 2 months.” 

Wearing a mask doesn’t just protect others from COVID, but it protects you from infection and even serious illnesses. Infectious disease experts from Springfield, Missouri think, “Wearing a mask could mean that even if a person is infected, they are more likely to get a milder or even asymptomatic form of the disease.” Dr. John Brooks, a medical epidemiologist and the CDC’s chief medical officer for the agency’s COVID-19 response says, “While cloth face coverings aren’t 100% effective, wearing them means you’re exposed to less virus. Less is coming in from other people and you’re inhaling less. It’s a win-win.” We are wearing masks not to just protect others, but to protect ourselves as well.