Publix will require all employees to wear face masks again effective Monday, Aug. 2, the Lakeland-based grocer announced. The move comes after the CDC issued updated masking guidelines for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people in high-transmission areas of the country. This includes Florida, which accounts for 20 percent of new Covid-19 cases in the country and which reported a 22 percent positivity rate on July 22.

"Effective August 2, Publix is requiring associates, regardless of their vaccination status, to wear face coverings over their noses and mouths while inside any Publix location. We encourage all to do their part to slow the spread of Covid-19," the company wrote on its website.