Just a few weeks ago, COVID was largely in the rear-view mirror for Chipotle Mexican Grill. Now, the pandemic is again hitting the chain’s workforce, its CEO said, as the highly transmissible delta variant continues its surge around the country. “Now it is definitely back in front,” Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol said Wednesday during a live-streamed conversation with the Washington Post. The chain continues to see a steady stream of job applicants as it looks to hire thousands of new workers this year, Niccol said. But it is seeing “exclusions from people having contact with COVID or they themselves having COVID,” he said of his workforce. Those illnesses come amid a tight labor market in which Chipotle and other chains are trying to keep both digital and on-premise businesses operating and growing. “My preference would be everybody gets vaccinated and we move on,” Niccol said. Currently, all Chipotle workers must wear masks. All customers are encouraged to wear face coverings, but the chain is not mandating it unless it is required by state or local governments, he said. “We’re not looking for employees to police peoples’ behaviors on this front,” Niccol said. “Our preference is you wear a mask.” The Newport Beach, Calif.-based burrito chain has not yet made vaccines mandatory for its workers, but such a mandate is on the way, Niccol said. “What we are waiting on is for the final approval for the vaccine,” he told the Post. “Once the vaccine gets approved, it gives us a lot more latitude,” Niccol said he has not yet spoken with anyone from the New York City government about how to implement the vaccine requirement for dine-in customers, which takes effect on Sept. 13. Other cities are mulling similar vaccine requirements.   – Source: Restaurant Business.