Amazon lifts mask mandate for fully vaccinated warehouse workers

Amazon.com Inc will not require fully vaccinated US warehouse employees to wear masks at work from Tuesday unless mandated by state or local law, a source familiar with the matter said.

The e-commerce giant had in August ordered all U.S. employees to wear a mask at work regardless of their vaccination status due to the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant of COVID-19.

The variant had also prompted other major tech companies, including Facebook Inc, Google, and Microsoft Corp, to tighten their defenses against COVID-19.

Amazon’s decision comes just before the crucial holiday season, for which it has been hiring thousands of hourly workers by offering them sign-up bonuses in a tight job market.