I have been in many a Publix, in Sarasota, Bradenton, and Longboat Key, Florida and NEVER has the cover of the NE ever been covered up, in the decade and 1/2 I've been shopping in them!
My local Publix here in Jacksonville has been covering them up for a while now.
In Publix, the practice is a recent development, after the election in fact. Angry Democrats seem to be the reason, with Trump as President elect and then President being too much for them to bear.