Apple Drops Mask Requirement for Corporate Workers at 'Most Locations'

[MacRumors]

Apple is dropping its mask requirements for corporate employees at "most locations," according to an internal memo obtained by The Verge.

Apple's COVID-19 Response Team on Monday told corporate employees that the company is updating current protocols "in light of current circumstances," and urged staff to continue wearing a face mask if they feel more comfortable doing so.

Apple also noted in the email that "everyone's personal circumstances are different" and reminded corporate employees to respect every individual's decision to wear a mask or not.

Apple has been shifting its operating policies throughout the pandemic to keep in line with local regulations and to mitigate risk for employees and customers in areas where COVID is spiking.

For example, Apple in March relaxed its mask requirements for its retail employees in the United States due to a decline in Covid-19 cases and a relaxation of local mandates.

The latest move however comes amid a fresh wave of infections in California that were first identified in the Bay Area, due to the highly-contagious Omicron BA.5 subvariant.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1554303892229263362

Apple is still operating a hybrid home/office work policy for corporate employees in the United States. Staff began returning to their offices on April 11 for one day a week, ending a two-year work from home policy that Apple implemented during the pandemic.

Apple originally planned to have staff in the office for three days of the week by May 23, but the company reversed the decision after a surge in infections, and a two-day requirement was imposed on May 4.

Article Link: Apple Drops Mask Requirement for Corporate Workers at 'Most Locations'

 

[zahuh]

Free healthcare in the UK means that we haven’t thought about Covid for a very long time. UK gave 21 free at home tests per month to each person 1.5 years before the US gave 2 for everyone. I think the last restrictions here was lifted over a year ago. Sad to see the richest state in history in the richest country in history is still dealing with this…all over a lie that free healthcare will completely backup the healthcare system. We in Europe are not as brilliant as you all in the states and have figured it out. Is it perfect? No, but what you’re going through is in deep need of change.

 

[MaxBurn]

My main takeaway was I can't believe they left it this long to drop masking.

 

[BuffaloTF]

Free healthcare in the UK means that we haven’t thought about Covid for a very long time. UK gave 21 free at home tests per month to each person 1.5 years before the US gave 2 for everyone. I think the last restrictions here was lifted over a year ago. Sad to see the richest state in history in the richest country in history is still dealing with this…all over a lie that free healthcare will completely backup the healthcare system. We in Europe are not as brilliant as you all in the states and have figured it out. Is it perfect? No, but what you’re going through is in deep need of change.

Dealing with what? It's been up to the business entities or local - city/town level - decision makers since February. And actually, that was before Boris lifted yours. I think the last public space that requires one is the NYC subway and bus system, but nobody wears one and nobody enforces it.

 

[alFR]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1554303892229263362

Good to get some feedback and advice from noted virologist / epidemiologist Mark Gurman...

Free healthcare A lack of reporting in the media about the current numbers of covid cases in the UK means that we haven’t thought about Covid for a very long time.

Fixed that for you. This has nothing to do with free healthcare, it has everything to do with the UK government trying to convince everyone that covid is over when, even though cases are slowly declining, it very clearly isn't (currently still 10-20k new cases/day in England).

 

[GuruZac]

Right call on Apple’s part. It’s an endemic respiratory virus. As it continues to mutate in to new variants it gets further away from a highly morbid/mortal virus and one more and more similar to other coronaviruses. At the hospital system I work at, if you test positive and are asymptomatic, you can still work with an N95 on.

 

[GuruZac]

Good to get some feedback and advice from noted virologist / epidemiologist Mark Gurman...

Fixed that for you. This has nothing to do with free healthcare, it has everything to do with the UK government trying to convince everyone that covid is over when, even though cases are slowly declining, it very clearly isn't (currently still 10-20k new cases/day in England).

Positive cases don’t and have never mattered. What has always mattered were hospitalizations, and at our hospital system and my brother’s in a different state, they aren’t seeing any hospitalizations due to COVID. People are incidentally testing positive. Most are mildly or completely asymptomatic.

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

Good to get some feedback and advice from noted virologist / epidemiologist Mark Gurman...

Fixed that for you. This has nothing to do with free healthcare, it has everything to do with the UK government trying to convince everyone that covid is over when, even though cases are slowly declining, it very clearly isn't (currently still 10-20k new cases/day in England).

Number of cases can go up / down all they want, it's not a valid metric. It's when the NHS starts to get overwhelmed that we have a problem.

UK seven-day average for people in hospital mechanical ventilation beds (so patients seriously ill) is 280. Just as an indicator, in the January 2021 peak was 3700. In addition, more than half of the COVID-19 hospital cases are made up of people who were admitted to hospital for other reasons.

The biggest "threat' to the NHS just now is staff absences, recruitment difficulties, and people turning up at A&E's with stupid non-emergencies. I'm aware of someone who turned up at an A&E due to pain from an ingrown toenail - this should be dealt with through primary care.

 

[tridley68]

Finally it's about time masks have proven to not work this is just more government and big business control.

 

[meaning-matters]

Good to get some feedback and advice from noted virologist / epidemiologist Mark Gurman...

Fixed that for you. This has nothing to do with free healthcare, it has everything to do with the UK government trying to convince everyone that covid is over when, even though cases are slowly declining, it very clearly isn't (currently still 10-20k new cases/day in England).

I'm the most worried vaccine issues aren't over yet. (This week the colleague of a good friend died suddenly: a 38 old woman working in a beauty parlor in Italy; hart issues. My friend, also injected because without it would have been fired, is very sad about the death of her colleague, but also worried about her own health.)

 

[verpeiler]

Right call on Apple’s part. It’s an endemic respiratory virus. As it continues to mutate in to new variants it gets further away from a highly morbid/mortal virus and one more and more similar to other coronaviruses. At the hospital system I work at, if you test positive and are asymptomatic, you can still work with an N95 on.

Covid is not just a respiratory virus. And there’s actually no hint that it would mutate into a more mild variant, why would it anyway? That’s all wishful thinking.

 

[ELman]

Free healthcare in the UK means that we haven’t thought about Covid for a very long time. UK gave 21 free at home tests per month to each person 1.5 years before the US gave 2 for everyone. I think the last restrictions here was lifted over a year ago. Sad to see the richest state in history in the richest country in history is still dealing with this…all over a lie that free healthcare will completely backup the healthcare system. We in Europe are not as brilliant as you all in the states and have figured it out. Is it perfect? No, but what you’re going through is in deep need of change.

Nothing is free. What's you sales tax rate?

 

[Amazing Iceman]

Finally it's about time masks have proven to not work this is just more government and big business control.

Masks don’t work?
Where do you get your wisdom from?
People who are sick need to wear a mask to avoid spreading their sickness.
And if you know you will be closely surrounded by people who are sick, it would be wise to wear a mask too.
Don’t tell me that if someone close to you starts coughing and sneezing at you, you will not move away. Even if you do away it may be too late; without a mask, your chances of getting sick are much higher.
Every time I read or hear someone saying that masks (etc.) are just part of the government trying to control people, I laugh 😂.
Some people prefer to fill their minds with garbage spread by fake experts and people with a personal agenda on social media, rather that learn the scientific facts about things.
That’s why we have people believing the Earth is flat because the government wants to control us; that the government is using the COVID-19 vaccine to insert microchips in our bodies to change our DNA, etc.
The world is full of nuts!!! 🤣 😂

 

[GuruZac]

Covid is not just a respiratory virus. And there’s actually no hint that it would mutate into a more mild variant, why would it anyway? That’s all wishful thinking.

Because many viruses do that. They evolve in to highly infectious low fatal variants. We see this many viruses. And COVID is overwhelmingly a respiratory based virus since there is a high amount of ACE2 receptors in the lungs and respiratory tract and that appears to be the tropism for SARS-CoV2. Sure there are ACE2 receptors in the endothelium which is why we see CV symptoms like increased stroke, thromboembolism, etc, but overwhelmingly, it affects the respiratory tract.

 

[cane811]

Free healthcare in the UK means that we haven’t thought about Covid for a very long time. UK gave 21 free at home tests per month to each person 1.5 years before the US gave 2 for everyone. I think the last restrictions here was lifted over a year ago. Sad to see the richest state in history in the richest country in history is still dealing with this…all over a lie that free healthcare will completely backup the healthcare system. We in Europe are not as brilliant as you all in the states and have figured it out. Is it perfect? No, but what you’re going through is in deep need of change.

Free lol

 

[Amazing Iceman]

Because many viruses do that. They evolve in to highly infectious low fatal variants. We see this many viruses. And COVID is overwhelmingly a respiratory based virus since there is a high amount of ACE2 receptors in the lungs and respiratory tract. Sure there are ACE2 receptors in the endothelium which is why we see CV symptoms like increased stroke, thromboembolism, etc, but overwhelmingly, it affects the respiratory tract.

Either way, why would someone want to feel like a fish out of the water and miserable, even if it’s for a few days, when it could be prevented from happening?

 

[Unggoy Murderer]

Either way, why would someone want to feel like a fish out of the water and miserable, even if it’s for a few days, when it could be prevented from happening?

What exactly would prevent it from happening?

 

[KPOM]

Either way, why would someone want to feel like a fish out of the water and miserable, even if it’s for a few days, when it could be prevented from happening?

How can it be prevented from happening? Respiratory viruses spread through aerosols. “Successful” respiratory viruses evolve into highly contagious variants with mild symptoms. Think the common cold. We don’t have vaccines for it. That’s where Omicron and its variants are heading. No amount of masks or restrictions would do much of anything to stop it.

 

[KPOM]

Masks don’t work?
Where do you get your wisdom from?
People who are sick need to wear a mask to avoid spreading their sickness.
And if you know you will be closely surrounded by people who are sick, it would be wise to wear a mask too.
Don’t tell me that if someone close to you starts coughing and sneezing at you, you will not move away. Even if you do away it may be too late; without a mask, your chances of getting sick are much higher.
Every time I read or hear someone saying that masks (etc.) are just part of the government trying to control people, I laugh 😂.
Some people prefer to fill their minds with garbage spread by fake experts and people with a personal agenda on social media, rather that learn the scientific facts about things.
That’s why we have people believing the Earth is flat and that the government told us is round to control us; that the government is using the COVID-19 vaccine to insert microchips to change our DNA, etc.
The world is full of nuts!!! 🤣 😂

Show me an RCT that shows that masks of any kind reduce the spread of respiratory viruses.

 

[BrownyQ]

“Don’t hesitate to continue wearing a face mask if you feel more comfortable doing so. Also, please respect every individual’s decision to wear a mask or not.”

This is probably the best part of the message. Live and let live; be responsible for your own health and let the rest do the same.

 

[GuruZac]

Either way, why would someone want to feel like a fish out of the water and miserable, even if it’s for a few days, when it could be prevented from happening?

We are not in disagreement. But at least in the U.S. states that had and continue to push for draconian measures in the name of being safe were never better off in absolute numbers of hospitalizations and death than states that were more measured. There is a balance, and with Apple's decision, I am happy to see them relaxing mandates about masks. While mask can help, most people don't wear them properly, or wear masks that do much of anything in the first place. It's nothing more than optics and making others feel safe. We completely and utterly botched the response in the U.S.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

Show me an RCT that shows that masks of any kind reduce the spread of respiratory viruses.

Why are we told to cover our mouths and turn away before sneezing? And don’t say it’s only to prevent us from spraying others with snot.
People who are sick need to wear a mask to avoid getting others sick. But because of people who don’t care about others, some people who are not sick choose to wear a mask and keep their distance, etc.
I don’t need to read a RCT to prove it. I’ve been seeing it happen with people I know. Only this past week, 7 got sick, and they all live in different places, so it’s not a case of a group of people that got infected together.
There’s a lot of people who are still contagious wondering at stores and other places, but because they did their 5 day quarantine, don’t bother to wear a mask, and are getting others infected.

Edit: add two more to the list, and I was with them the day before they showed symptoms. But i didn’t get sick. Could it be because I was wearing a mask?

 

[verpeiler]

Because many viruses do that. They evolve in to highly infectious low fatal variants. We see this many viruses. And COVID is overwhelmingly a respiratory based virus since there is a high amount of ACE2 receptors in the lungs and respiratory tract and that appears to be the tropism for SARS-CoV2. Sure there are ACE2 receptors in the endothelium which is why we see CV symptoms like increased stroke, thromboembolism, etc, but overwhelmingly, it affects the respiratory tract.

And most don’t, saying it twice in a row doesn’t make it more true. And no, covid is not just a respiratory virus like a common cold. It’s a multi-organ disease which can cause harm in many ways. It even affects the CNS, which (probably) causes loss of taste and smell in lots cases.

Don’t get me wrong, Covid won’t cause a Zombie apocalypse, but playing it down like you and lots of people here do doesn’t help either. Millions of people already died because of it, more than half of the world isn’t vaccinated. And right now we have no idea in which direction new variants will tend to.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

We are not in disagreement. But at least in the U.S. states that had and continue to push for draconian measures in the name of being safe were never better off in absolute numbers of hospitalizations and death than states that were more measured. There is a balance, and with Apple's decision, I am happy to see them relaxing mandates about masks. While mask can help, most people don't wear them properly, or wear masks that do much of anything in the first place. It's nothing more than optics and making others feel safe. We completely and utterly botched the response in the U.S.

It’s just like helmets in a job site. It will protect you in many cases but if a steel beam falls on your head, it will not protect you. Not because of this fact, people are going to say that helmets are useless and stop wearing them.
If a mask could reduce your chances of getting infected even a 30%, it’s worth wearing it. They do become uncomfortable, but it’s better than being several days sick and miserable with headaches and other symptoms.
I work for myself, so I can’t afford being sick, not even with the flu.
Nobody wants someone to be near someone who’s sick, specially now.

 

[eric89074]

This is probably the best part of the message. Live and let live; be responsible for your own health and let the rest do the same.

This is how it always should have been from the beginning.

The current strain of covid is basically a cold for most people. Hospitals aren't being overwhelmed by it.