OKLAHOMA CITY —Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores is lifting its face mask requirement.
Customers and employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 do not need to wear masks in Love’s stores starting June 15.
Since last July, Love’s and other convenience-store chains across the country had required customers and employees to wear masks to help fight the spread of COVID-19. However, in May, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear face masks. The CDC, and Love’s, still ask that non-vaccinated employees and customers wear masks.
“The past 15 months have been challenging for customers and team members, so we’re pleased the country has made such great strides against the pandemic to get to this point,” said Love’s President Shane Wharton. “We will continue to be diligent about health and safety as ever before. We want to thank our customers for wearing masks in our stores and for the patience they’ve shown as we worked toward this decision.”
- Love’s is No. 16 on CSP’s 2021 Top 40 Update to the 2020 Top 202 ranking of c-store chains by size.
Some cities, counties and states still require all employees and customers to wear masks, and Love’s will abide by these requirements where applicable, it said.
The Oklahoma City-based chain continues to perform stringent cleaning measures, practice social distancing and use plexiglass barriers at its locations. It’s also offering employees $75 for voluntarily receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
Retailers who responded to a CSP survey in May said that 73% of them had already lifted face mask restrictions in their stores, and 16% were in the process of doing so.
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