Aug. 9, 2021—Following new CDC guidance urging everyone, regardless of vaccination status, to mask up in indoor settings, small businesses have a dilemma, should they require masks?
A new CNN report details the struggle that many small business owners are facing with this guidance. Small businesses don’t have to follow federal guidance and in the absence of legal rules from local authorities, the decision then rests on business owners.
"People got used to walking in without a mask. So you run the risk of making them do something they don't want to do. You feel like you're the police," Andy Rodriguez, co-founder and CEO of The Salty Donut with five locations in Florida and Texas, told the outlet.
As of Friday, the U.S. logged 103,455 new daily infections with a seven-day average of about 89,463 cases per day, translating to a 43 percent increase over the prior seven-day average. Hospital admissions are also climbing, with 7,673 newly admitted patients and a 41 percent uptick over the prior seven-day average. Deaths are rising too; the CDC reported 614 new deaths and a nearly 40 percent increase over the prior seven-day average.
