No mask, no service: Masks now mandatory at Yellowknife, Whitehorse Walmart stores

On WednesdayWalmart stores in Yellowknife and Whitehorse joined more than 400 other Walmart stores across Canada in requiring shoppers to wear a face mask before entering the store.

Mandatory masks are part of Walmart's COVID-19 pandemic response plan. The decision to make masks mandatory was announced last week.

"Health Canada has identified that, when worn properly, a person wearing a mask/face covering can reduce the spread of his or her own infectious respiratory droplets," corporate affairs manager Felicia Fefer said in an email to CBC News previously.

In Yellowknife, shoppers appeared to take the new policy in stride, even those who neglected to bring a mask. The store was offering masks for sale, and disposable masks for free, to those who arrived without one.

In some provinces a growing number of businesses are requiring shoppers to wear masks.

In the Northwest Territories, the Office of the Public Health Officer has asked residents to wear a mask when in public, but has not made it mandatory.