Target no longer requires employees and customers to wear face masks inside its stores, citing declining COVID-19 infection cases across the country.

Before this week, Target required masks for employees and recommended masks for customers in areas with high infection rates. But as of Monday, Target updated its policy to longer require anyone in its stores to wear masks unless mandated by local rules.

It is the first time Target has done away with masks regardless of whether people are vaccinated or not since it first started requiring them in 2020.

In a statement on its coronavirus response site, Target said, "As COVID-19 cases continue to decline across the country, Target will not require our U.S. team members or guests to wear masks, as local regulations allow."

Target's announcement follows reports from earlier this month that Walmart has done away with mask requirements for employees who are vaccinated.

Starting in August 2020, Target required customers to wear masks as a health precaution using guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last spring, Target switched its approach to require masks for those who weren't vaccinated, but just a few months later in August, it again told employees to wear masks as well as guests in infection hot spots.

Richfield-based Best Buy still requires masks for workers and recommends them for shoppers.

Minneapolis and St. Paul continue to have indoor mask mandates that require people to wear masks inside of stores, though city leaders are weighing how long to keep those rules. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Minnesota has been on the decline since late January.