The pandemic certainly changed life as we knew it, especially the way people spent their disposable income. The lockdowns caused people to stay at home and hurt the retail and restaurant business immeasurably. Many businesses were shuttered for lack of business. After more than a year-long drought, with restaurants and retailers forced to make some creative changes in order to keep their businesses afloat, there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel. And this light will come in the form of increased revenue for restaurants and businesses alike. The light concerns the lifting of the mask mandate across the country, and people are not only realizing, but they are breathing easier as well without their masks.
Virus Numbers Dictate New Policy
Recently the CDC issued new mask mandates, and retail stores and restaurants could not be more thrilled. According to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, “Anyone who is fully vaccinated, can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing. If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.” Fully vaccinated people are defined as those who are two weeks past their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, or two weeks after a single dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
For many people, returning to pre-pandemic life means going out to dinner and eating inside the restaurant, or shopping at their favorite retail establishments, something they have not done freely in over 14 months.
CBS News reports, “The news comes as the nation crosses 250 million vaccinations, and heads toward President Biden’s goal of 70% of Americans having at least one dose by July 4.” Currently the percentage is at 47%, and the 70% by Independence Day seems possible. The numbers of people vaccinated are definitely aiding America’s independence from masks.
The pendulum is shifting and more Americans are feeling comfortable about leaving their home to dine, socialize, and shop. A survey reported that, “Fifty-four percent of Americans say they have gone out to eat in the past week–a six-point increase from last wave, and the first time this number has crossed above 50%.” This is good news for restaurants who are filling their tables, and their wallets.
The same study reports that “60% say going to salons, barber shops, or spas carries a small risk, or no risk at all, compared to 54% last wave.” People are getting more comfortable with the idea of a return to normal life, and restaurants, bars, and retail stores will reap the benefits. So many businesses, especially independent businesses, have suffered during the pandemic, but restaurants are already seeing a huge increase in dining patrons since the mask lifting last week.
Retailers React
The CDC mandates have given some flexibility to businesses, and each business will decide what is right for them about wearing or not wearing a mask for those who are fully vaccinated, and how to police that in their business. Retailers reacted swiftly, and stores like Costco, Target, Walmart, Trader Joe’s, and Starbucks dropped their mask mandates nearly immediately. Restaurants are thrilled that customers can finally dine in their establishments without the cumbersome problem of the masks.
According to ABC News, “The health and safety of our guests and team members have been Target’s top priority throughout the pandemic, and we’ve closely and consistently followed the CDC’s recommendations overtime. Given the CDC’s updated guidance last week, Target will no longer require fully vaccinated guests and team members to wear face coverings in our stores, except where it’s required by local ordinances.”
So how will businesses know if patrons are vaccinated or not? Most businesses at this point will use the honors system, and places like Costco have big signs at the door to invite fully vaccinated guests inside without masks.
Some other places are using technology to keep people safe in this uncertain time. Restaurant Business Online reported that “New York is encouraging the use of a phone app called the Excelsior Pass as a standard way of ensuring consumers have received their shots. The pass is already being used by sports arenas and other sites of large gatherings to limit attendance to the fully vaccinated.”
Easing Past Tensions
Increased business and revenue are the number one positive for restaurants and retailers with the mask news from the CDC. But another positive from lifting restrictions is that restaurant and retail employees will have an easier time at work. For 14 months they have been asked to enforce very polarizing rules in their establishments, and it has not always gone very well, even to the point of loss of life.
ABC News reported, “Retail and grocery store workers, restaurant staff and other frontline workers have often been thrust into the role of carrying out their employers’ mask rules, sometimes with violent consequences. In the early months of the pandemic, a Family Dollar security officer was shot and killed after telling a customer to wear a mask and in Los Angeles, a Target security guard was left with a broken arm from a fight with two unmasked customers.”
After having been placed in the middle of the polarizing mask mandate, businesses will be free to do what they need to do, and this will make for a more peaceful establishment for workers and guests alike.
The Future is Now
Only 6 weeks ago, this moment of dropping the mask mandate seemed so far away, and the CDC was being very cautious. But recently CNN’s Wolf Blitzer interviewed Dr. Fauci, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, if he felt it was safe enough to enjoy a burger and a beer in a busy restaurant.
“The answer is yes,” Fauci said. “If I had the time to do it, I would do it. But I don’t have the time to do it.”
If a maskless trip to the local watering hole for a beer and burger is good enough for Fauci, then this is even better news for the restaurateurs and retailers whose businesses have been suffering for over a year. And as summer is just around the corner, this is a great time to get out of the house for some dinner and retail therapy!
