Another day, another anti-masker thinking they're above the virus. In a video circulating on Reddit Thursday morning, a woman not wearing a mask taunts Costco customers about how the virus hasn't gone away. She also claims that protective face coverings don't make a difference. Ultimately, this anti-masker was taken away by the police.
"No mask, no service!" someone off-camera shouted at the woman. "Get your a** out!"
"There's no reason why I shouldn't be able to shop without a mask on," to which the person recording the video fires back, "Haven't you heard about the virus?"
"The masks don't work!" the maskless woman shouts at the other customers. "This has going been on for almost a year now! If they work so well, why are people still getting sick? Can you answer that question?" she said, approaching the person recording the video.
The cameraperson responded that it's because folks won't wear a mask to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The anti-masker appears to gloat that it's her fault that the virus isn't gone. "One person, one person," she repeats pointing to herself, all smiles. The video then cuts to the woman being taken away in handcuffs by police.
The incident occurred on Wednesday in Eureka, Northern California. According to KRCR, an ABC affiliate, police arrested the woman at the scene. She "strong armed" a cell phone from an employee during her tirade. However, when she heard that the police were called, she handed the cell phone back.
The woman who recorded the video revealed to KRCR that she was worried for the health of the man she was with, for whom she works as a caretakere.
"I had somebody with me in line who I had just taken up to the surgeon," she told the outlet. "He's had heart surgery, he's had a stroke, and that was my main concern. There were a lot of elderly people there. I just don't get it. I tried to be nice, I didn't want to yell at her, but I had enough. I had to say something. I was so relieved to see the police come take her away."
She added: "Just wear your dang mask."
Eureka Police Department told KRCR that the woman was detained for suspicion of robbery. A complaint was also filed for "failure to comply with the mask order" and sent to the district attorney.
EPD Captain Patrick O'Neill also told local outlet Lost Coast Outpost that the Costco store did not want to arrest the woman, only to remove her from the premises. "Costco management were not desiring of an arrest at that time," O'Neill said. "They just wanted her off the property."
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, community use of masks, specifically non-valved multi-layer cloth masks, can prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
Correction: A previous version of this story referred to Eureka as a city in Southern California. It is in Northern California.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
