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| The author on lunch walk, April 15, 2020 |
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order earlier
this week ordering people here to wear face masks when they are in public
situations in which they are likely to come within 6 feet of other people, the
standard distance to be kept through social distancing. I work in the Rath
Building for the Erie County Department of Social Services; almost two weeks
ago, County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz issued an executive order mandating
workers entering and working in the Rath Building wear facemasks. Both of these
are part of safety precautions to take due to the coronavirus/COVID-19
outbreak.
But on my two public outings so far today, Saturday, April 18, one a
two-block walk to pick up breakfast and the other a just more than 2-mile walk
with our dog Harold, I witnessed an incredible lack of adherence and/or
awareness of these orders and health/safety measures and no more than 50
percent of the people I encountered close by wearing masks. And by wearing
masks, I mean either wearing masks or scarves, etc., fashioned as masks over
their faces or even just around their neck, ready to be deployed. If people had
them in their pockets, I wouldn’t know, and no one who may have made any
attempt to put them on when I encountered them.
Yes, due to my anal nature, I kept track of this on both walks, and so
you know, I used the measure of about 10 feet from me, not 6 feet, because some
people, like myself, try to put more distance between themselves and others at
that moment. At 10 AM, I encountered 26 people as I walked just more than 2
blocks from home to Perks to pick up a telephone order. Of the 26 people, 13
were wearing masks, or 50 percent; 50 fucking percent. Of this, there were two
most annoying groups, the first two Caucasians, a male and female, walking
through four of us standing outside, all of us wearing masks and standing more
than 6 feet from each other, waiting for orders (which were brought out to us
by a masked employee), to go inside, unmasked. Just what I want, some entitled
white people going unmasked into the small area Perks is using, not only where
people are working and can’t leave but are preparing food. Second, what
appeared to be a mother and her two young children, age about 18 months to 4
years, outside on their sidewalk, none wearing masks, as mom created
inspirational COVID-19 oriented chalk art (some of which I have quoted
elsewhere on social media) but not moving when other people approached them. I
was walking on the same sidewalk, and on my way to get food I walked in the
street, which I should not have had to do, to avoid the unmasked trio. They
were gone when I walked home.
On Harold and my walk, which took us down Norwood Avenue, Lexington
Avenue, Ashland Avenue, Bidwell Parkway, Elmwood Avenue, Bryant Street and
home, we encountered 65 people, only 31 of whom were wearing masks, or 47
percent. It was sad to see this even lower adherence rate on our kind of long
walk, and there was one interesting short incident witnessed. We had just turned
right onto Ashland Avenue off of Lexington Avenue when a man bicycled up to the
dairy store there on Ashland, maskless, got off his bike and went in the door.
He stopped partly inside as a voice inside asked him if he had a mask with him;
he said no, he didn’t. The person then told him that he couldn’t come in
without a mask. “What do you mean, I can’t come inside? I can’t make a purchase
without a mask?” Yes, the person replied, you can’t come in or make a purchase
here without one. As Harold and I passed by, the man then said, “Well, I don’t
like New York State or what it is doing.” “Well, we don’t like idiots like you
making life dangerous for us,” I said to no one in particular but apparently
unheard by this man, who got on his bike and rode away.
