Weary US businesses confront new round of mask mandates

Businesses large and small are reinstituting mask mandates and some are even requiring vaccines of their customers as U.S. coronavirus cases rise.

After a largely mask-free summer, it’s a reversal no one wanted to see, brought on by the fast-spreading delta variant and new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

But business owners and workers say they will do what they can to keep their doors open and not slow the economic gains of the last few months.

After lifting mask recommendations for fully vaccinated people in May, the CDC changed course in late July, recommending masks for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people in areas of higher transmission.

The shifting guidance has caused confusion over which rules to enforce and how.