Laramie Wal-Mart has eased some of it’s COVID-19 precautionary measures such as “recommending” masks rather than “requiring” them, removing the “shop this way” signs within the isles, and other precautions around the store and front entrance.
“While it was frustrating having to follow some of the rules at Wal-Mart when they were in full effect, it was worth it because at least they were trying to slow down the spread of the virus,” said Katie Wilhelm, a junior at UW.
“Now, while they still heavily advise masks, it doesn’t make sense (to not enforce them) because they seemed to take away those policies when numbers started to rise again in the fall.”
Wilhelm said people did not follow the “shop this way” aisle signs anyways but most followed the mask requirement.
Wilhelm, who frequents Wal-Mart on a weekly basis, said this whole experience did not change her outlook on the organization as a whole.
“I still don’t mind Wal-Mart after these changes, but I try to avoid going out unnecessarily now with the slow rise of cases,” Wilhelm said.
Other students, like senior Grace Long, had different reactions to the changes.
“I don’t think I expected anything different from Wal-Mart honestly. I’m not a big fan of theirs to begin with so the actions that they have taken concerning COVID do not surprise me,” Long said.
Like Wilhelm, Long supports the idea of continued precaution, especially as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
“I don’t think they should have stopped enforcing precautions because COVID is still very real and people are still getting sick,” Long said. “I have and I still try to follow the original precautions, but it stresses me out that a lot of people have stopped listening to the recommendations for COVID safety.”
Long said that big corporations like Wal-Mart should be more concerned with the wellbeing of their communities.
“I appreciate the precautions they took but I wish they would have been a bit more strict about enforcing mask requirements and maximum capacity limitations toward the end of quarantine,” Long said.
