By Mike Finney

DOVER — Just when people were getting used to seeing each other’s faces again, some stores are bringing back mask requirements for their employees — and strongly recommending them for their customers — as cases of COVID-19 continue to surge.

Gov. John Carney said recently that he doesn’t foresee reinstating a face covering mandate, but certain businesses in Delaware are coming out with their own regulations to help protect their customers and employees.

The state has continued to recommend that unvaccinated individuals wear masks even though regulations were dropped May 21.

Retailers such as Walmart, Target, Boscov’s, Kohl’s and Lowe’s are among businesses that are requiring masks for their employees and strongly encourage them for their customers.

“I’m fine with wearing a face mask if it makes other people feel safe,” Dover’s Tonya McCormick said on Wednesday. “While I don’t think anyone is a big fan of wearing the masks, it’s not that big of a deal, especially if you are inside close to other people. Just try to keep one another safe.”

However, some individuals remain skeptical about face coverings.

“I personally hated wearing the face masks,” said Mike Cole of Marydel, walking out of Target in Dover on Wednesday. “Not only did my eyeglasses constantly fog up while wearing them, if you wore them too long, they would give you a headache due to a buildup of carbon dioxide.

“And what? It’s unsafe to walk into a restaurant without wearing your face mask, but it’s safe once you sit down and get ready to eat? A lot of it just doesn’t make a lot of sense, and I think it’s just a bunch of overregulation.”

The growing concern comes following news that all three of Delaware’s counties have reached “substantial” rates of COVID-19 transmission, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The substantial rate of transmission is the second highest on CDC’s scale, just under the “high” category. The agency is recommending that vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals wear masks in public, indoor settings in areas classified as substantial or high, per guidance issued last week.

On Tuesday, Target announced that it will require both vaccinated and unvaccinated employees to wear face masks in areas with substantial or high risk of transmission, especially as the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread.

The retail store isn’t requiring guests to wear face masks, but it is strongly recommending it, as are Walmart, Boscov’s, Kohl’s and Lowe’s.

“The health and safety of our guests and team members have been Target’s top priority throughout the pandemic,” store officials said in a statement. “Target continues to recommend face coverings for unvaccinated team members and guests at all stores across the country.

“Based on the CDC’s updated guidance, we require face coverings for our team members and strongly recommend face coverings for all guests in areas with substantial or high risk of transmission, as defined by the CDC. We’ll follow all local mandates, as we have throughout the pandemic, and continue to monitor guidance from the CDC closely.”

CDC’s most recent guidance came July 29, when it released updated guidelines for fully vaccinated people, calling for mask-wearing in public, indoor spaces in areas of substantial or high transmission.

The recommendation came from new findings regarding the delta variant that indicate that fully vaccinated people can transmit COVID-19 much more easily than scientists previously believed.

“We will follow CDC guidance, which includes fully vaccinated people wearing masks in public indoor settings in counties with substantial or high transmission,” Walmart Chief People Officer Donna Morris and Health & Wellness Executive Vice President Dr. Cheryl Pegus said in a Friday memo to U.S. employees.

“In these counties and where there are state or local mask mandates, associates will be required to wear masks inside our facilities, including stores, clubs, distribution centers and fulfillment centers. This also includes campus offices.”

COVID-19 cases steadily climbed in Delaware during the month of July, and the state is averaging 124.4 new cases per day over the last week — the highest mark since May 14. The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations is up to 53, per the Delaware Division of Public Health’s data released Wednesday.

Kohl’s said Monday it would require store employees in counties with substantial or high risk of transmission — which includes Delaware — to wear face coverings while in its locations.

“We also recommend that customers in substantial and high-risk counties wear masks while shopping. As always, we are following state and local mask mandates,” Kohl’s said in its statement. “We continue to encourage Kohl’s associates to get the COVID-19 vaccine and are providing resources to help them do that.”

State officials also announced Tuesday they recommend that unvaccinated individuals get tested for COVID-19 once a week.

Gov. Carney said there is a simple way to eradicate the pandemic: Get the vaccination.

“We are definitely tracking it in terms of those case numbers, the percent positive,” Gov. Carney said. “But our main message is, get vaccinated if you’re not — because it’ll protect you, it’ll protect your family, and most importantly, it’ll enable us to go more normally through life with open businesses, without mask-wearing.”

Mask-wearing is still required on public transit and planes, in health care facilities and in congregate settings like prisons and homeless shelters.

Now that Delaware is in the “substantial” transmission category, DPH Director Dr. Karyl Rattay recommends that Delawareans follow CDC guidance — which is wearing their face mask indoors in public settings, regardless of whether they’re vaccinated. She strongly recommends people get immunized.

“That is the key to turning this around,” Dr. Rattay said. “And there are a lot of folks out there who have not stepped forward and done the simple thing of getting vaccinated and protecting themselves and our state — and really, without our vaccination rates, it is going to be hard to get out of this pandemic.”