After two years of the COVID-19 outbreak, Costco is eliminating a safety guideline to protect members and employees. According to its website,
Costco is close to eliminating the special shopping hour after announcing it in mid-March. The company will resume operations on Monday, April 18.
The warehouse business began extended shopping hours in March 2020 to support the CDC's highest-risk COVID-19 patients.
The hours were originally intended for first responders, retirees, disabled people, and immunocompromised people to buy in the
warehouse without crowds. To accommodate vulnerable shoppers, many grocery businesses provided senior hours. Stores are reassessing COVID-19 safeguards as cases fall.
The elimination of special operation hours has been disputed. Costco reduced the special hour to two days a week from five in the summer of
2020, but reinstated it a few weeks later due to COVID-19. A year later, in July, the company stated it was eliminating the incentive, but later
that month, pandemic instances forced it to reconsider. With COVID-19 cases steady and the end date approaching, this appears to be Costco's ultimate choice.
Costco's retail hours will return, but the warehouse will still have mask and item limits. Costco facilities will respect local face mask laws