In March of 2020, almost every big retail store was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the opening process has been slow, due to the extensive cleaning and preparation of these stores. Every day, up to the minute before the doors were opened, retail employees were cleaning and adding additional safety measures to keep their customers safe. For example, Plexiglass in front of the cash registers, stickers on the floor to help maintain social distancing, moving tables to help ensure that customers keep a safe distance apart, and most importantly, the requirement to wear a mask or a face covering. However, many people do not choose to wear a mask, as they feel it does nothing to protect them. In reality, they are actually putting themselves and everyone else at risk.

Research shows that masks help stop the spread of COVID-19. Wearing a mask helps to prevent you from touching your mouth and nose, which are the easiest ways to contract the virus. It also serves as a covering for any of the bodily fluids that would come out of your mouth, one of the ways the virus is spread.

When you enter a store without a mask on, all of the cleaning and safety precautions put into place become useless.

You may not feel like it, but you are putting everyone else at risk.

The employees are risking contracting the virus so that you may be able to shop. The other customers who are following the correct procedures are now also at risk due to one's selfish acts. So please, for everyone around you, follow your state's guidelines when going out in a store or a public place. The more we protect ourselves and others, the quicker this pandemic will end.