Kroger Co (+ 2.12%) said Wednesday it will continue to require buyers to wear masks in stores in Texas and Mississippi. Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that while scientists and other politicians have called on people to wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID, he will nevertheless cancel the mask mission, which will take effect March 10-19.
Coronavirus has killed more than 42,000 Texans. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves also announced the cancellation of the mask mission on Tuesday.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kroger family’s most pressing priority was to provide a safe environment for our employees and customers, while at the same time fulfilling our social responsibility to provide open stores, e-commerce and supply chain solutions and to operate effectively.
“In this way, our community has access to fresh food,” a Kroger spokesman said in a statement. The Kroger retail chain includes supermarkets of the same name, Ralphs and King Supers.
To ensure the continued safety of our customers and employees, the Kroger Family Company will require everyone in stores across the country to wear masks so that all our employees on the front lines of supermarkets can receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
We also continue to call on federal, state and local officials to prioritize plans to launch vaccines for supermarket employees, and we will provide a one-time payment of $ 100 to employees who receive the recommended dose of the COVID vaccine.
Kroger has also joined other companies, including Target Corp. TGT (+ 0.07%) and Macy’s Inc M (+ 4.14%), whose shares of Kroger were up 11.3% last year, and The Standard & Poor’s 500 SPX was -1.31%, which is Up 28.3% over the period.