The Centers for Disease Control recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.
A woman kicked out of a Los Angeles Trader Joe's for not wearing a face mask against the store's policy is now calling the rule an "unlawful mandate."
Genevieve Peters was shopping for groceries at the Los Angeles store but was told to leave if she didn't put on a mask. She refused, and a manager called 911 as Peters is seen on video appearing to harangue staff and other customers.
"It is an unlawful mandate," Peters told Inside Edition. "It is not a law and it does not protect against the COVID-19."
In early April, the Centers for Disease Control issued a recommendation advising people to wear cloth face coverings in public where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, including grocery stores and pharmacies. The new guidance was based on emerging research about how asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic people may spread the virus to others unknowingly in close proximity.
"Then we might as well wear a mask forever," Peters said. "Because we could potentially have something."
There are confrontations occurring almost daily in stores across the country over masks, with some customers saying they don't want to wear them for health reasons and others wanting to make a political point. But some store managers say they're caught in the middle and are being made to be mask enforcers.
"It's a huge source of anxiety for retailers," said Retailers Association spokeswoman Meegan Holland. "Who hopefully will be reopening soon here and they're trying to figure out how to handle these situations.
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