Even if he’s not infecting those around him with COVID-19, he’s infecting those jeans and T-shirts with grime from the soles of his grubby shoes.
A coronavirus-denying Coscto shopper was filmed standing on a clothing display and spewing his anti-mask rhetoric into a megaphone at a location in Tustin, Calif., on Sunday. During his rant, the man questioned the efficacy of masks to stop the spread of coronavirus and made false claims that COVID-19 and the influenza virus are the same thing.
“If masks really work, why is it still a problem?” he yelled into the megaphone, as seen in footage uploaded to Twitter. “Because the masks don’t do anything. It is just the flu. We’ve already been exposed to it, folks.”
“Where are the people with the flu this season? Where are they? They’re getting told they have COVID,” he said. “Anybody who dies from COVID would have died from the regular flu.”
COSTCO SHOPPER WITHOUT MASK IS BOOTED FROM STORE BY EMPLOYEE, VIRAL VIDEO SHOWS
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC,) however, has already outlined many differences between COVID-19 and the flu, including its assessment that the former can lead to much more serious illnesses and remains contagious for much longer, among many other key differences.
The man also falsely claimed that 70,000 people die “every year” from the flu, when in fact the CDC’s records show only 22,000 flu deaths in the U.S. during the 2019-2020 flu season and 34,000 in 2018-2019. There were 64,000 flu deaths estimated in the 2017-2018 season, although that was the highest number recorded in several years. (In 2011-2012, there were only 12,000 estimated flu deaths in the country.)
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The anti-masker then turned his attention to California Gov. Newsom and criticized him for the state’s latest lockdown measures.
At least one shopper was seen reprimanding the man, while two others gave him fist-bumps near the end of the footage. All were wearing masks, aside from the man with the megaphone.
Costco employees were also seen directing customers away from him as he continued to rant.
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Representatives for Costco did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation as to whether the man was a member, nor whether he was removed or his membership revoked.
The superstore, meanwhile, had recently updated its mask policy to require masks or face shields for everyone ages 2 and up. Members with medical conditions — who were also exempt from this requirement prior to Nov. 15, 2020 — are now also required to wear a face shield, at the very least.