# Share your Covidiot stories

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854>\
**Category:** The Quarantine Zone\
**Tags:** covid-quarantine\
**Created:** [April 29, 2020, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854 "2020-04-29T22:21:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 17

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2020, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/321 "2020-08-11T13:25:40Z")

</div>

> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#):
>
> He stands inside the store and wears his mask under his nose.

My wife had a medical appointment where the doctor was wearing both a mask and a face shield. Shortly after the appointment started, the mask slipped down off her nose. Since she was also wearing a face shield, my wife didn’t say anything. Midway through the appointment she said, “ok, now look at my nose…or where my nose would be if you could see it”. She _didn’t know_ her nose was uncovered.

So if you feel the desire to shout angrily at people with uncovered noses, consider a more non-judgmental “hey, your mask slipped off your nose” giving them the option of just fixing it and pretending it was an accident (which it may have been). Win-win for everybody.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/322 "2020-08-11T14:03:26Z")

</div>

One of the sons was an usher at a wedding over the weekend.

The mothers of bride and groom both announced that no one should wear a mask.

He knew it was a bad idea, but can be conflict-averse so complied. He said he felt particularly bad because a lot of people showed up wearing their masks, but when they saw him greeting them without one, they took them off.

His wife was apparently one of two or three folks with masks on, and they are both self-quarantining now (and fortunately have jobs where they can do that).

And are using this as a “what not to do” for their own wedding which (Odin willing and the creek don’t rise) is in early October.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2020, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/323 "2020-08-11T15:04:53Z")

</div>

> [@Folacin](#):
>
> The mothers of bride and groom both announced that no one should wear a mask.

“We want this to be a wedding everyone will remember”.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/324 "2020-08-11T15:23:43Z")

</div>

> [@kayaker](#):
>
> “We want this to be a wedding everyone will remember”.-

We want this to be a wedding the _survivors_ will remember. Take LOTS of pictures.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/325 "2020-08-12T04:55:52Z")

</div>

> [@Folacin](#):
>
> The mothers of bride and groom both announced that no one should wear a mask.

Brilliant. 🙄 Hopefully it doesn’t turn out like this wedding in India last month, which they’re now calling a superspreader event:

> **[Days After a Wedding, a Dead Groom and Dozens of Coronavirus Cases (Published...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/world/asia/india-coronavirus-wedding-groom.html)**
>
> Officials in India have opened an investigation into the gathering after more than 100 wedding guests tested positive for the coronavirus.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/326 "2020-08-12T13:18:22Z")

</div>

Nitpick; the Coronavirus wedding in India was in June (so not last month), although the New York Times article you linked to was from early July.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/327 "2020-08-12T15:15:51Z")

</div>

> **[‘This is no longer a debate’: Florida sheriff bans deputies, visitors from...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/12/masks-florida-ban-billy-woods/?hpid=hp_morning-mix-8-12-rr1_mm-marion%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans&itid=hp_morning-mix-8-12-rr1_mm-marion%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans)**
>
> Florida set a new record with 217 covid-19 deaths on Tuesday, while Marion County also set its own record for daily deaths with 13.

> On Tuesday, as Florida set [a daily record for covid-19 deaths](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/12/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2), Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods prohibited his deputies from wearing masks at work. His order, which also applies to visitors to the sheriff’s office, carves out an exception for officers in some locations, including hospitals, and when dealing with people who are high-risk or suspected of having the novel coronavirus.
> 
> In an email to the sheriff’s department shared with The Washington Post, Woods disputed the idea that masks are a consensus approach to battling the pandemic.
> 
> “We can debate and argue all day of why and why not. The fact is, the amount of professionals that give the reason why we should, I can find the exact same amount of professionals that say why we shouldn’t,” Woods wrote in the email, which was first reported by [the Ocala Star-Banner](https://www.ocala.com/news/20200811/marion-county-deputies-ordered-not-to-wear-masks).
> 
> [A majority of epidemiologists and other health experts](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/06/18/face-mask-covid-coronavirus/?itid=lk_inline_manual_8) say [face masks](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/wearing-masks-might-help-you-avoid-major-illness-even-if-you-get-coronavirus-experts-say/2020/07/24/b97c2e30-cc62-11ea-b0e3-d55bda07d66a_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_8) and social distancing are key to slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has ravaged Florida. The state, [which has recorded more than 542,000 cases](https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/coronavirus-us-cases-deaths/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_gfx-virus-tracker%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans&itid=hp_rhp__hp-top-table-main_gfx-virus-tracker%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans&itid=lk_inline_manual_8) and more than 8,600 deaths, added [277 more deaths](https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/08/11/florida-adds-record-high-coronavirus-deaths-with-277-tuesday/) on Tuesday; Marion County also [set a record](https://www.ocala.com/news/20200811/13-new-covid-19-deaths-one-day-record-tuesday-in-marion-county) for daily deaths on Tuesday, with 13.

Where is that headslap emoji? 🤨

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/328 "2020-08-12T15:19:42Z")

</div>

> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> > [@](#):
> >
> > The fact is, the amount of professionals that give the reason why we should, I can find the exact same amount of professionals that say why we shouldn’t,”

Obviously not a believer in the concept of “better safe than sorry”…

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/329 "2020-08-12T15:25:17Z")

</div>

> [@SCAdian](#):
>
> Obviously not a believer in the concept of “better safe than sorry”

Yeah, I don’t understand that at all. At a bare minimum, just say “if you want to wear a mask, knock yourself out” Why explicitly ban them? Just doesn’t make any sense.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/330 "2020-08-12T16:39:55Z")

</div>

> [@Slash1972](#):
>
> Why explicitly ban them? Just doesn’t make any sense.

I keep seeing, “because people won’t wear them right, touch them, not sealed correctly, feel safer in groups, etc. and do more harm than good.” I don’t find it a convincing argument, but it’s out there.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Pheonix1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pheonix1/32/4236_2.png) [@Pheonix1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pheonix1)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/331 "2020-08-12T17:14:00Z")

</div>

It’s exactly what every medical official was saying 5 months ago and still the general advice in a bunch of countries. Denmark for instance. So yeah, it’s “out there”.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/332 "2020-08-12T17:27:07Z")

</div>

Medical officials were saying that we should ban people from wearing masks?

OK then.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/333 "2020-08-12T18:16:12Z")

</div>

> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> Where is that headslap emoji? 🤨

It was taken out to help avoid the spread of Covid.

Don’t touch your face, and all that, right?

🙂

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/334 "2020-08-12T18:18:26Z")

</div>

Got it! 👍🏼 🙄

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/335 "2020-08-12T23:23:28Z")

</div>

> [@Pheonix1](#):
>
> It’s exactly what every medical official was saying 5 months ago and still the general advice in a bunch of countries. Denmark for instance. So yeah, it’s “out there

Yeah, I don’t remember medical officials saying “ban mask wearing” Can you point to some non-YouTube articles that mention this?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Pheonix1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pheonix1/32/4236_2.png) [@Pheonix1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pheonix1)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/336 "2020-08-12T23:58:22Z")

</div>

I doubt tofor was talking about explicit calls for banning in the post I responded to. If he was, I’ll happily retract my reply. In the mean time…

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/337 "2020-08-13T10:55:19Z")

</div>

Yeah, no. I was being sloppy. I don’t think I’ve seen anybody calling for explicit bans per se, but if you buy the (unconvincing, imho) argument that they can actually make things worse (through touching, overconfidence, etc.) than a sheriff banning his force from wearing them makes sense, since I imagine dealing with a mask all day could make an officer less effective at his job.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/338 "2020-08-13T13:38:36Z")

</div>

> [@tofor](#):
>
> …I imagine dealing with a mask all day could make an officer less effective at his job.

Was that sarcasm/irony?

If it wasn’t, 'splain why wearing a mask all day would make an officer less effective than, say, a doctor, lawyer, teacher, Speaker of the House of Representatives, clerk at Wal-Mart? Because the officer is armed? What’s your thinking on this?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/339 "2020-08-13T13:56:14Z")

</div>

> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> > [@tofor](#):
> >
> > …I imagine dealing with a mask all day could make an officer less effective at his job.
> 
> Was that sarcasm/irony?
> 
> If it wasn’t, 'splain why wearing a mask all day would make an officer less effective than, say, a doctor, lawyer, teacher, Speaker of the House of Representatives, clerk at Wal-Mart?

Does it really need 'splaining? I don’t find it hard to imagine how wearing a mask all day might make any of those people less effective than they would be without a mask. The mask makes it at least a little bit harder for people to hear and understand them when they talk. It makes it at least a little bit harder for people to interact with them because they can’t see their facial expressions. It’s at least a little bit uncomfortable and distracting, at least on hot days.

All of these things are worth putting up with. We’re not saying they mean that any of these people shouldn’t wear masks. But it’s certainly understandable why someone would want not to wear a mask, would wish it wasn’t necessary.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2020, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854/340 "2020-08-13T14:25:47Z")

</div>

> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> 'splain why wearing a mask all day would make an officer less effective than, say, a doctor, lawyer, teacher, Speaker of the House of Representatives, clerk at Wal-Mart? Because the officer is armed? What’s your thinking on this?

What Thudlow\_Boink said.

Plus, a “doctor, lawyer, teacher, Speaker of the House of Representatives, clerk at Wal-Mart” is communicating in a controlled environment where the negative effects can generally be mitigated.

Also, if the clerk says, “Aisle Three” and I hear “Carlisle Tree” I say, “what?” and we work it out. If the cop says, “Get on the Ground” and I hear “Got any Gowns?” I could end up dead.

Also, police work requires teamwork so they don’t [shoot each other](https://us.cnn.com/2020/08/10/us/reno-police-accidental-shooting-taser-trnd/index.html). If some wear a mask and some don’t, a sheriff could see that as an unnecessary division within his team.

I don’t think it would be that hard to justify, once you have convinced yourself “masks aren’t necessary” (which, a reminder, I think is wrong).

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854.md?page=16)

[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-covidiot-stories/852854.md?page=18)
