Businesses around Maine are spending the early part of the week adopting new mask rules in the wake of new guidance from the state.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills lifted mask requirements for most of the state Monday. However, businesses are still allowed to require them if they want to.
In Portland’s leafy North Deering neighborhood, businesses greeted the guidance with mixed rule changes of their own. Some shops were continuing to require the masks, while others put up signs saying “masks appreciated.” Shaw’s supermarket, one of the major retailers in the area, put up a sign asking that residents who are not yet vaccinated against the coronavirus wear a mask in the store.
Hannaford Supermarkets, which has dozens of locations in Maine, is taking a similar approach, and is recommending masks for people who are not fully vaccinated. The company is not verifying vaccination status of customers or workers.
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“Mask wearing by unvaccinated associates is a safety protocol that associates are expected to follow,” company spokesman Eric Blom told the Portland Press Herald. “We do not ask for verification, but it is an expectation of them.”
