"The state House of Representatives voted Wednesday to let businesses ignore local mask requirements that several cities and towns have embraced amid a pandemic that has killed more than 16,000 people in Arizona.
The proposal’s sponsor said House Bill 2770 would merely give businesses a choice of whether to enforce the public health measures and give consumers a choice of whether to patronize businesses that do so."
Not that it really matters because Arizona never had a state wide mask mandate anyhow. People ignored any local mandates and businesses never tried to enforce them, but still.
Actually, dispensaries are enforcing them. Wear a mask or don’t buy weed*. It seems to be fairly effective.
While I was waiting to go in, I was looking at the display cases and asked someone else who was looking at the case on the end what was in a box. He seemed to not be able to see with his mask on because he pulled it down while he looked then put it back on before telling me what it was. I don’t ask anymore.
*Several dispensaries were closed down for a few weeks after folks tested positive, and the workers wanted to go back. Happy stoners tip very well, and they are already paid over 15/hour.
Is it a stereotype that my first reaction was that buyers of weed would be mellow about it, but if you tried the same thing at a liquor store you might get a lot of shit from the customers?
Possibly paywalled. The link in my snip isn’t paywalled, but not as snarky either.
"Arizona’s death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 16,000 this week, so naturally, the state House figures it’s time to allow businesses to ignore local mask ordinances.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Joseph Chaplik of Scottsdale, reasons that it’s a matter of individual freedom and besides that, society has managed to survive other viral outbreaks without having to cover their faces.
Take AIDS, for example.
“We heard about that in the ‘80s,” Chaplik told his colleagues during a Wednesday floor debate on the bill. “Yet no masks were required.”
Chaplik’s bill passed shortly thereafter, on a party-line 31-28 vote, with not a single legislator pointing out that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, cannot be spread through the air."
Masks were – and still are – indeed STRONGLY recommended to prevent the spread of AIDS. The only differences were that the masks were to be worn on a different part of the body, and were made of a suitable shape and material accordingly.
My nephew has bad ears. He had to get surgery to put in tubes - again. His ENT was mask averse, carrying it around, grumbling about masks, pulling it down frequently. Sister said nothing.
She called to check up on her billing, found out the office had been closed, everyone out with covid. Wonder how that happened.
I walked 40 miles today on fewer than 2000 calories because every time I went into a convenience store, even ones with a mask policy, there were at least one or more maskholes in there. I may complain later online but there’s no use in exposing yourself just to immediately complain.
Ended up getting one slice of pizza from a downtown vendor who, while unmasked, had a walk-up window. Very little solid food other than that, and I am just heavy enough that if I dragged a lot of food with me my knees wouldn’t like it.
I’m told the internet includes something called “glasses porn” involving young ladies doing various things sans clothes but wearing glasses, usually the frump “sexy librarian” kind.
Those could get all fogged up even if doing it right.
I walked out of Publix because I could see upon entering that at least half of the people weren’t wearing masks. None of them were elderly and so would have likely to have gotten jabbed. The person manning the entrance said that they couldn’t do anything about it.
At least around here I’ve been very impressed with the tiny number of "conscientious objectors (read “morons”) who won’t play nice with others. Even in our Publix.
Far too many folks are willing to crowd into restaurants and demask as their ass hits the chair. But I can avoid going into crowded restaurants. Groc stores are tougher to do without.
Brevard County. I gave them feedback on their website and definitely mentioned that grocery shopping is not an optional activity. They claim that that location has delivery and curbside pickup but I’ve never seen any infrastructure for that such as uniformed shoppers, parking spots, or personnel loading groceries.
Being not-too-familiar with the Florid lands, it was many years before I discovered that Broward County and Brevard County were not just two spellings for the same place.
Here in Schenectady, I’ve only seen three people maskless indoors since the epidemic began. I still do all my shopping in person, but people are good about the mandates.
