I sat down recently at the bar in one of my favourite haunts to watch some hoops and forget the stress of the day.
That’s when I noticed something was missing.
The bar had installed protective shields all along the bar as an added layer of protection due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
And now they were gone, just days after B.C. hit phase 3 of its restart plan.
“We don’t need them anymore,” a server cheerily explained when I asked why they were gone.
That was when I walked out. I didn’t go all Karen and ask to see the manager or get mad. I simply took my business elsewhere because this restaurant was no longer taking enough steps to make me feel safe. (I’m not naming the restaurant because I’m not out to cause them harm – I’m just trying to write about the general issue of why businesses shouldn’t be dropping their protections because we’ve hit a new phase.)
The hostess didn’t take my name or number and they weren’t telling people to wear a mask when they weren’t at their table - so maskless people were just wandering around the restaurant. The staff, however, were still wearing masks.
Look, I get that the mandatory mask policy was lifted, but Dr. Bonnie Henry still recommends that masks be worn as a good layer of protection. Businesses should still abide by the spirit the mask policy. Taking down the protective shields felt like a reckless move – one that cost them a customer.
Instead, I went to another restaurant that had kept their shields up (I know, it’s sounding like a Star Trek episode). These shields protect both staff and the customers.
What’s weird is that some businesses are getting grief for NOT relaxing restrictions.
Some small business owners who are taking a slower approach to relaxing COVID restrictions in their stores say they have been subjected to flak at their front doors and on social media by those fed up with wearing masks.
While they say it’s only a fraction of the customers they see, some who spoke to Glacier Media said they had experienced uncomfortable confrontations, exchanges of choice words and, in some cases, online abuse because of their decision to require customers to continue wearing masks.
“The entire pandemic our customers have been great, but as we get to this point where there’s a light at the end of a tunnel, it seems people are just done,” said Jamie Owens, owner of Hide + Seek Coffee on Oak Bay Avenue.
Owens said while she understands many people are fed up with masks, there is a distinct lack of empathy from some, who fail to see that mask policies are about small businesses protecting their staff, and their families.
“You may think as a customer your risk is low, but what about the barista who sees 150 to 300 people a day, or the grocery store worker who is seeing people in the thousands,” said Owens, who has been getting harassing notes for her mask policy on social media, where she was also told she should be locked up for child abuse because she posted a picture of her and her daughter sporting masks.
You just can’t make this garbage up.
I, for one, will only support businesses that still take the pandemic seriously. Vaccinations don’t mean 100% protection. There are dangerous variants gaining steam. We are not out of the pandemic.
- With additional reporting by Andrew Duffy, Victoria Times Colonist
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
