Apple lifts mask mandate for most of its corporate employees

Employees at Apple's corporate offices will now have the option of wearing a face mask or not while at work as the tech giant is dropping its mask mandates for corporate employees at "most locations".

The move comes even as the US is recording a surge in the highly transmissible BA.5 variant of Covid-19, citing an internal e-mail from the Covid-19 response team, The Verge reported.

"We are writing to share an update to our current protocols. In light of current circumstances, wearing a face mask will no longer be required in most locations. As always, please check Welcome Forward regularly for specific requirements for your site, including those from local health authorities, or any site you may visit," the e-mail reads.

"We recognise that everyone's personal circumstances are different. Don't hesitate to continue wearing a face mask if you feel more comfortable doing so. Also, please respect every individual's decision to wear a mask or not," it added.

Apple started requiring some employees to return to the office in April, but stopped short of implementing its full hybrid model, which would mandate three days of in-person work for all employees, every week.

In May, Apple delayed its full return-to-office policy while maintaining two days a week at the workplace for the time being amid the fresh surge in Covid infections in the US.

The tech giant has told workers in an internal memo that "we are extending the phase-in period of the pilot and maintaining two days a week in the office for the time being".