NPR

Back To The Office? Not Yet. Companies Scramble To Adjust To The Delta Variant

September was expected to be the month of mass returns to the office. Now the surging extra-contagious coronavirus variant has employers wondering what to do.
Employees elbow bump at a JLL office in Menlo Park, Calif., in September. With the delta variant surging, mask mandates are returning, and some employers are now requiring employees to be vaccinated before coming to the office.

For a while there, it seemed like things were finally heading back to normal. Now, not so much.

In the span of just a week, plans for a September return to the office have been pushed back. Mask mandates have made a comeback. And a growing number of employers, including the federal government, are laying down the line on vaccines.

On Friday, Walmart — the country's largest private employer — reversed its policy and will once again require all workers to wear masks in areas most affected by its planned return to the office.

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