Facebook tells office staff to use masks even if vaccinated

FACEBOOK has told its employees to start wearing masks in offices even if they are fully vaccinated amid concerns about resurgent Covid cases.

The policy, which came into effect yesterday, applies to all of its offices in the US. It comes a week after both Facebook and Google said employees would need to be vaccinated to return to work.

Facebook’s office in London, which is operating at a limited capacity, has an

‘Google and Apple both recently pushed back office opening until October’

ongoing policy of requiring staff to wear a mask.

“Given the rising numbers of Covid cases, the newest data on Covid variants, and an increasing number of local requirements, we are reinstating our mask requirement in all of Facebook’s US offices, regardless of an employee’s vaccination status,” the company said.

Parts of the US including the San Francisco Bay Area where Facebook is headquartered, have reintroduced mask requirements for indoor places amid the rise of the more transmissible delta variant.

Facebook has said it expects to fully reopen its offices in October, with staff required to work in person at least half of the time if they have not received special permission to work from home.

Google and Apple both recently pushed back their office opening from September until October amid con- cerns about the virus’s spread.

While many employers at workplaces where public contact is common have continued to require masks, Facebook is relatively unusual in making it an office requirement. Amazon is also requiring masks in certain offices.

UK government guidance states that businesses “can require or encourage customers, clients or their workers to wear a face covering”. The Government no longer requires face coverings in certain circumstances but says members of the public should wear them in enclosed areas.