As the COVID-19 pandemic has ebbed and flowed over the past couple of years, so have mask policies in virtually every public place, including automotive manufacturing plants. Most recently, back in January, Ford masking rules at the automaker’s U.S. plants were updated to allow workers to wear their own KN95 or K95 masks, while Ford of Canada dropped its mask mandate in March as the Omicron surge eased. Ford’s U.S. plants also went mask optional in March, but in May Ford reinstated mask mandates at its U.S. plants located in areas of Michigan defined by the CDC as “high risk” as cases surged. Now, Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis have once again made masks optional at all U.S. plants, according to Reuters.
The COVID-19 joint task force that represents all three automakers and the United Autoworkers (UAW) union noted that it still “strongly recommends masking” in facilities located in areas defined as high risk by the CDC, however, masks will not be required at those facilities moving forward.
Previously, plants located in Wayne, Washtenaw, and Macomb counties were classified as high risk, and as a result, automakers reimposed masking and social distancing requirements at those plants.
Meanwhile, last fall, Ford of Canada announced that it would be mandating COVID-19 vaccines for all of its employees, though UAW Ford workers won’t be required to get vaccinated, as Ford Authority reported back in November of last year. However, both the union and Ford continue to recommend that workers get vaccinated. Ford has supported COVID-19 vaccines since the very beginning, running ad campaigns and ordering special freezers to ensure that employees who wanted a shot could get one, even when they were somewhat scarce. Then, the automaker began offering vaccines to its employees on-site at a number of its plants across the United States and Mexico.
We’ll have more on Ford’s mask and vaccine policies soon, so be sure to subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford-related COVID-19 news and non-stop Ford news coverage.
