Closing Walmart?

Coronavirus is the biggest challenge most people are going through. What would the United States be without access to a Walmart and Sam’s Club? Can Walmart stay open? Can Sam’s Club stay open?  Sam’s Club is part of Walmart. The stores can stay open, but 30 million face masks are required every month.

Some days ago Rita Marie posted to twitter asking Walmart and Sams Club:  For the safety of your employees and your customers you should require all customers to wear some sort of face covering and gloves and you should be making announcements in your stores for all guests to keep 6ft distance.

Her appeal was heard by Walmart, while President Donald Trump’s issue could not be dealt with in a big way – there are not even close enough tests available.

Walmart will make it mandatory for their staff to wear facemasks. This may come too late for much of the US East Coast region and it’s unclear how effective it will be. Wearing homemade masks is not a real solution, it’s desperation in times the government and Walmart was not prepared for such a disaster. Just a month ago the same authorities told people not to worry about masks. It was not because they should have not been worried, but simply no masks were available and creating a panic was not the best move.

On March 27 President Trump praised Walmart for making their parking lot available for widespread tests for everyone. Of course, this did not happen. There are no tests available.

On April 6 Walmart posted to its website: “We’re doing everything we can to help strengthen our community of families, friends, and associates. We’re taking preventative measures to keep our stores clean and maintain a healthy environment. Together, we’ll get through this.”

While small stores have to close, go into bankruptcy destroying many hard-working American families, giant retailers like Walmart are open and are making a fortune during COVID-19.

Of course, it is essential to maintain supplies to continue, but why not allow family-owned stores to remain open and only giant companies owned by billionaires? This world is not fair.

It is estimated Walmart needs about 30 million masks each month. Let’s hope there is enough hand made scarfs and other face – coverings available. They may not make much of a difference, but it looks good for the press. The alternative would be to close Walmart or Sam’s Club or even both.

Should Walmart and  Sam’s  Club  Walmart stay open? 

The Grand Island area in Nebraska is by far Nebraska’s biggest coronavirus hot spot. It has rates of illness comparable to some of the hardest-hit states in the country. Not only does surrounding Hall County now have more cases than any county in Nebraska, but its per capita case rate is also almost 12 times that of Douglas County and more than 25 times that of Lancaster County, a World-Herald analysis found. A reader tweeted from Grand Island urging his governor:  REALLY… you are “asking to wear masks”??? Why don’t you come and hang out in Grand Island for a day… Sams Club, Walmart, Super Saver… no masks, no social distancing, kids everywhere. Step up and take care of your entire state… quit requesting and mandate a stay home order for GI already.”

Rita Marie tweeted to Walmart: For the safety of your employees and your customers you should require all customers to wear some sort of face covering and gloves and you should be making announcements in your stores for all guests to keep 6ft distance.

Walmart responded today in ordering all their associates to go to the next step.

Here is the message emailed to all Walmart employees.  Sam’s Club is part of Walmart, but requires a membership fee for patrons to shop.

John Furner, President and Chief Executive Officer – Walmart U.S. and Kath McLay, President and Chief Executive Officer – Sam’s Club wrote: 

Throughout this pandemic, your health and well-being has been our top priority. It was just over a month ago that we announced our COVID-19 emergency leave policy, and since then, we have taken more steps to protect you, our customers and our members with the guidance of our state and local public health officials, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), as well as our company’s own Chief Medical Officer.

Today, we are sharing another step: We will begin requiring that associates wear masks or other face coverings at work. This includes our stores, clubs, distribution and fulfillment centers, as well as in our corporate offices. We’ll also be encouraging customers and members to wear face coverings when they shop with us.

We have evolved our policy on face coverings from optional to mandatory as public health guidance has shifted. The CDC now recommends wearing face coverings in public settings, including grocery stores, to help curb the spread of the virus. Although most state and local governments do not mandate the use of face coverings in public settings, the CDC has reported that recent studies show a significant portion of individuals with the virus lack symptoms and can transmit the virus. With this knowledge, we believe it is simply in everyone’s best interest to use masks or face coverings to curb the spread of this disease.

Starting Monday, you’ll be required to wear a face-covering at work. You can provide your own as long as it meets certain guidelines, or we will provide you with one as you pass your associate health screen and temperature check. We’re also aware there may need to be exceptions to this policy based on local laws and individual health needs.

We hope this step will promote safety and consistency across all of our facilities and be of comfort to our customers and members. However, it’s important to remember that face coverings are simply an additional health precaution. They do not guarantee against the spread of this virus, and they do not replace the most important steps you can take to keep yourself and others safe: 6-20-100. Whether at work or elsewhere, practice six feet of social distancing whenever possible. Regularly wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds. And if you have a temperature of 100 degrees or higher, stay home.

We’re also announcing today that we are extending our emergency leave policy through the end of May to ensure you have the support you need when you have to miss work.

Thank you for your commitment to helping ensure Walmart and Sam’s Club are safe places to work and shop. Together, we are providing a critical service for communities across the country. During this extraordinary time, our customers and members need us more than ever. Thank you for being there for them and each others.