Many stores won't force customers to wear masks

Many stores and supermarkets will call on customer's to follow the government and security regions' advice to wear face masks in stores in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Eindhoven, but won't force them to do so. This is in line with the advice from supermarket association CBL, Het Parool reports.

Albert Heijn and Jumbo will urge customers to wear masks in the cities, but won't deny them access if they don't have a mask. Hema said the same.

Retail chains Blokker, Intertoys and Big Bazar will decide per location. "We look at this per city according to the recommendations that have now been made by the cabinet," Michiel Witteveen of parent company Mirage Retail, said to Het Parool. "In any case, we'll make sure all our staff get fabric masks."

"If shops make face masks mandatory, it is expected to lead to a lot of extra discussion and even aggression at the door," a spokesperson for CBL said to the newspaper. "We want to protect the staff from that."

Supermarkets will monitor compliance with other coronavirus measures, such as social distancing and limiting the number of customers in store to prevent crowds, more strictly, the CBL spokesperson added. "At busy times, a supermarket employee will be a the door more often to make the door policy more visible and to make customers aware of the applicable rules."

Health Minister Hugo de Jonge did not want to comment to ANP on stores allowing entry to customers who are not wearing a mask, stressing that at this stage, wearing a mask is still an advice, not mandatory. "Shoppers are advised to wear a face mask. But it is still advice. We first ask the Outbreak Management Team for advice and will take make a decision based on that," he said to the news wire.