I was at the ER (A&E) Thursday night, in the Triage waiting room. There is a sign in the room saying if you have a cough, or have had a fever in the last 24 hours, to put on a mask. There is a table underneath the sign with a box of masks, sanitizer and tissues. They also have a taped message played repeatedly, only about 10 sentences and they state the same as the sign, plus add if you have a cough or fever, please distance yourself 3 metres away from other patients.
A man came in with a little boy about 4 years old, who was flushed and looked feverish to me, and coughing, and sat down beside me. Oh course, I didn't whisk out a thermometer and take the boys temp, but he sure looked feverish, and he was coughing.
I waited a couple of minutes, until he heard the message twice, then said to the man, "Excuse me, there are masks over there if he has a cough". He said "Oh, that's ok, thanks" and didn't get a mask. Right then I was called in, so I didn't have to sit there. I had been about to move across the room to sit. After the nurse was finished with me, I mentioned to her about them. Later on I saw them walking and the little boy had a mask on.
So, I was wondering, was I being fussy telling the nurse?
And I know nobody really knows what others are thinking, but what was he thinking? I don't know why he didn't put a mask on the child when the sign and taped message instructed people coughing to do so.