Apple to Again Drop Mask Mandate for Employees as Cases Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. will begin to drop its mask requirement for both corporate and retail employees in the U.S. as Covid-19 cases decline and local governments loosen restrictions.

The company told staff that masks for vaccinated corporate employees are now optional at offices in regions where local indoor-mask mandates have been eliminated. It also told retail staff at a small number of locations that masks for employees will become optional on Friday. Over time -- as more regions drop their mandates and cases decline -- masks will become optional for employees at more locations.

The changes come a week after the company dropped its mask mandate for customers at many locations. It's still recommending that both employees and shoppers wear masks, however, and is providing them upon request. An Apple spokesman declined to comment on the latest guidelines.

The company also is reinstating its in-person “Today at Apple” classes at retail stores in the U.S. The iPhone maker said Thursday that the classes will return on March 7 across the country for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Bloomberg News reported on the plan last month.

This is the second time Apple has dropped its mask mandate for U.S. employees. In June, Apple stopped requiring masks at many stores and offices for employees, only to reinstate the mandate weeks later amid a new wave of Covid-19 cases.

The change in policy may imply that Apple is again nearing the announcement of a return-to-office deadline for corporate employees. The company last attempted to set a deadline in February, only to scrap the date during the omicron surge. Other companies, including Alphabet Inc.'s Google, have set an April deadline for their staffers.