The masked man cometh not
 

So we are out to dine at Belle Glade and select indoor seating. Our group all have on masks. Our waiter arrives without a mask but is polite in introducing himself. One of our group asks him to put on a mask. He replied I don’t need to wear one, my management doesn’t require it. Further, He said he would not wear one and that no other wait staff would either. In view of the fact he moves around a closed environment, breathing the air of all his customers without being masked and then walks right up to our table unmasked is very threatening and extremely inconsiderate. I believe if a customer doesn’t want to be exposed to higher risks of COVID exposure they should be respected by staff who should make reasonable accommodations. This isn’t about trying to make others wear masks, it’s about requesting people who are working for you to comply with your reasonable requests.

In The Villages today, I don't think you will find many restaurants that will comply with your request.

So did you leave or did dining super-cede mask wearing ?

It could be D or even E.

D: The server was hoping to inoculate everyone with the airborne vaccine, i.e. Omicron. You get a few days of cold like symptoms and you become part of the immune herd.

E. They come from the north where everyone is wrapped up in masks and such and think that it's "doing something" despite the fact it's ripping through there like a bullet through tissue paper. Ignoring the fact that hospital workers in genuine PPE practicing infection control...are still getting it anyway as well.

Less likely------I didn't attribute that level of sophistication to that group :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Also, you bring up an interesting point----. Given the rapid spread of omicron, is this variant truly "airborne" as opposed to droplet spread?????? Haven't seen anything that addresses that concern.

When your "reasonable" request is that they wear a mask then it is absolutely about trying to make others wear masks.

If you don't like the policies of a restaurant then you have the choice to dine elsewhere.

Get vaccinated and boosted then avoid indoor spaces if you are still worried about contracting Covid. If you are concerned then ask a restaurant about its policies before visiting - there have been no mask mandates in Florida for quite some time now.

Did you leave? Or was your risk of infection not as important as eating?
Also, you’re in Florida, eat outside if you’re worried.
Waiter is free to not wear a mask, just as you are free to not patronize the restaurant.

What I've read is that the basic reproduction number of Omicron is 7-10.

Old school corona was between 2-3, delta is/was 6-7.

7-10 is getting up into measles territory, a known airborne spread.

Anecdotally, I know that 1 person, about 2 weeks ago, at my old job in NJ, gave it to AT LEAST 12 people. I was scheduled to be up there for a final visit before I was an Ex employee, but we canceled the trip. Anyway, I'm glad I didn't go as it appears it was a super spreader type event. Everyone is required to mask, be vaccinated, to maintain distance, all of it. None of it made a damn bit of difference. People who didn't even interact with patient zero got it and this is in a factory type environment, with 30 foot ceilings. Everyone cleared it by New years, done and done.

Hard to eat and drink with a mask. Also hard to understand what people are saying with a mask. Hopefully you had a great mask.

Yes, another interesting point and I'll call possibility F

Virtue signalling:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

all highly suspicious for true airborne spread

And, like many of the others, I believe that if someone has a concern about exposure they should avoid going to places where exposure can happen. You can only control your own actions. It is seldom reasonable to ask another to act differently in place of changing your own actions.

There is a lot of that going around everywhere, and not just with pandemic issues.

Businesses have spent a lot of time trying to make customers feel important for the sales experience. Customers can sometimes push local establishments around, however, doesn't always work and to assume that one has that special consumer powers when one walks into an establishment. . .

I was thinking the same thing...

What happened to your masks when the food arrived?

Sounds like snowbirds are back (and I am only one year removed from being one lol)
Really, if you are so concerned, then what the actual heck were you doing out at a restaurant??