If you shopped at H-E-B or Central Market this weekend, you may have noticed new signs about the store's mask policy.
It's because H-E-B will now require customers to wear face coverings inside its stores despite saying earlier this month that masks for customers were "strongly encouraged."
"The ending of mask ordinances puts real pressure on retailers to enforce an emotional topic for many. We ask for kindness and understanding from our customers in our expectation of them to wear masks in our stores. Also, we understand some customers cannot wear a mask due to medical exceptions. We request all customers adhere to the Covid-19 protocols we have in place while shopping," the San Antonio-based grocery chain said in a statement.
H-E-B owns Central Market so the updated mask policy will also go into effect in those stores.
Shortly after Gov. Greg Abbott announced the state's mask mandate will end and businesses can open 100% starting March 10, H-E-B said it would also relax its mask requirement. It would only require employees to wear masks inside stores. The decision earned H-E-B both praise and push back.
Now, H-E-B's policy is similar to what national retailers are doing. Target, Walmart, Costco, and other national stores said they'll still require customers to wear masks, even in state governments do not require them.
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