All Costco customers will be required to wear a face mask inside stores starting Monday, the company announced Wednesday, making it the first major U.S. retailer to mandate its customers wear face coverings.
People wait in a queue outside the Long Island City Costco store during the coronavirus crisis in ... [+] 
Costco shoppers must wear a mask that covers their mouth and nose at all times while inside the store, the company says.
Children under the age of 2 and people who are unable to wear a face covering due to a medical condition are exempt.
All workers are already required to wear masks.
The company said wearing a mask should not been seen as a substitute for social distancing inside stores.
Costco did not respond to questions from Forbes asking if stores will give away or sell masks to incoming customers who don't have them, saying in a statement the company doesn't have the staffing capacity to respond to individual questions from journalists.
Some cities and states, including Maryland and San Francisco, have issued their own mask orders, but to date Costco is the only major retailer to require masks in all its stores.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommends that all Americans, especially in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, such as grocery stores, wear cloth masks.
"We know some members may find this inconvenient or objectionable, but under the circumstances we believe the added safety is worth any inconvenience. This is not simply a matter of personal choice; a face covering protects not just the wearer, but others too," said Craig Jelinek, Costco president and CEO.
Though Costco is experiencing an uptick in sales amid the pandemic, some employees toldBuzzfeed News the company wasn't doing enough to protect employees and was slow to implement firm coronavirus protocols. The company did not respond to questions from BuzzFeed.
Costco announced that it would set aside 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday for senior-only shopping at some stores and customers can bring their own reusable bags as long as they load the bag themselves. Costco also will no longer accept returns of toilet paper, bottled water, sanitizing wipes, paper towels, rice and disinfecting spray.
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