Disney Makes Vaccination Mandatory For Salaried, Non-Union Hourly Workers In U.S.

U.S. health authorities have urged Americans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to go back to wearing masks indoors when in public places. 

What Happened: The Walt Disney Co DIS has asked its salaried and non-union employees in the U.S. to get vaccinated by the end of September, Reuters reports.  

All newly hired employees need to be fully vaccinated before beginning their tenure.

Disney employees working from home will be required to verify vaccination before returning to their offices.

Starting Friday, Disney mandated visitors ages two and up at U.S. theme parks to wear masks in all indoor venues and park-based transportation, regardless of whether they are vaccinated against COVID-19.

Disney began requiring proof of a Covid vaccination or a negative Covid test prior to entry into its Paris-based theme park due to French guidelines.

Walmart Inc WMT has said that its corporate staff and management-level employees must be vaccinated by October 4, CNBC reports.  

Tech companies like Alphabet Inc GOOGL Inc's Google, Uber Technologies UBER Inc and Facebook Inc FB have asked their U.S. employees to get vaccinated before coming back to offices.

Why It Matters: Infectious Delta COVID-19 variant is quickly spreading across the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 100,000 COVID-19 cases were confirmed on Tuesday. 

The CDC has warned that the delta variant sweeping across the country is as contagious as chickenpox. It also has a longer transmission window than the original COVID-19 strain. 

According to health experts, the surge in the COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, due to the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant, will worsen as large segments of the country remain unvaccinated.

CDC reports the U.S. averaged 652,084 doses administered per day over the past week as of Friday. 

Last week, the CDC changed its guidance on mask usage and advised vaccinated people to resume mask-wearing indoors in areas of "high" or "substantial" transmission of the virus.

Photo: PxFuel.