Costco stores to require customers wear masks – and it’s not the only place in Fresno
Starting Monday, all Costco stores in the Fresno area will require customers to wear masks or other face coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
They’re not alone.
Smart & Final stores are requiring customers have face coverings before entering stores. And the Vineyard Farmers Market at Blackstone and Shaw avenues started requiring them last week.
People are not required by the city of Fresno, Clovis or the state of California to wear masks when in public. However, some places, like the city of Los Angeles, are requiring shoppers wear face coverings when doing essential business at places like grocery stores.
Locally, the city of Fresno requires employees working at essential businesses to wear face coverings.
Customers
The push for customers to wear face coverings started with smaller grocery stores like the 15-store Nugget Markets in northern California. So far, big chains like Walmart and Target have stopped short of requiring customers to wear masks.
One challenge for shoppers?
Not everyone has a mask, noted Felix Muzquiz, executive director of the Vineyard Farmers Market.
“They want the stores to be able to give them masks if they require them,” she said. “For me, I have a hard time finding them, so it’s impossible to give them away.”
A few customers donated masks for others, but those are gone now.
However, Muzquiz noted Vineyard shoppers who don’t have a mask can use scarves, T-shirts, bandannas or other item as face coverings.
Reaction
When the farmers market started requiring face coverings last Wednesday, about 90% of people were OK with the rule, Muzquiz said.
About 4% were “really ornery“ or refused to wear a mask, she said.
She hired two “bouncers” for the Saturday market to stop people without masks before walking into the market.
Overall, customers seemed pleased about the face covering requirement, with some sharing concerns about other markets not requiring them, she said.
“I had a lot of new people coming in and they were very happy,” she said.
What the CDC says
The Centers for Disease Control is now recommending people wear cloth face coverings in public where social distancing measures are difficult, like in grocery stores.
Initially, the organization said people did not need to wear masks unless they were sick, but changed that guidance after seeing increasing evidence that people without symptoms can spread coronavirus.
It still recommends people reserve surgical masks or N-95 respirators for medical workers.
The CDC and stores emphasize that masks are not a substitute for social distancing and customers should continue to keep 6 feet apart from others.
Masks are available for purchase online. That includes local sellers who don’t normally sell them, like Fresno-based KLSD’s masks that say “Be a good human,” and Snowflake Designs, a Clovis leotard maker that has switched to making masks.
For people without internet access, several stores like CVS and Target sell masks, though they are sometimes kept behind the counter and must be requested.
Also selling masks are places like the Packaging Store in Fig Garden Village, The Waffle Shop at 4025 Figarden Dr., and Studio 74, an art gallery in the Tower District. The gallery is selling them by appointment to people calling 559-908-0658.
This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 12:45 PM.
