As we continue to watch and listen to the developing state of the COVID-19 pandemic, including recent developments with the Delta variant, we are now finding it necessary to adjust our store policy in regard to masking – at least for the time being.
Effective this Thursday 8/5/21,
- All Co-op staff members will again wear masks while at work.
- Strongly recommending and encouraging that all shoppers regardless of vaccination status also wear masks while in the store.
We have made the decision to tighten our mask policy once again as the Philadelphia region, including Delaware County, has reached the “substantial” risk level, based on the current rates of transmission of this virus. We also want to be proactive in dealing with the current increase in breakthrough cases among vaccinated individuals. We expect these issues to be particularly relevant as folks return from vacations, and Swarthmore College begins welcoming back their entire campus towards the end of August.
Since the early days of this pandemic, the Co-op has made strong daily efforts to provide the best protection to all parties involved in our daily operations. I do understand that our move now to ask all vaccinated and unvaccinated shoppers and staff to wear masks will evoke both positive and negative feelings. However, I must make the hard choice to weigh the potential upsides and downsides of taking no action given the most current information we have on the impact of the virus’ spread.
We are in the community food business, and here to serve you as essential personnel, and we must do something to mitigate the potential risk of spread in our store and in our community. No answer is perfect, but our actions are meant to serve all of our Co-op constituents – from staff, to owners, to shoppers and visitor.
So please wear a mask while you’re at the Co-op to create as safe an environment as is possible for the time being. We’re all in this together, and we thank you for your cooperation.
Thanks,
Mike and your Co-op Team
