Costco denying entry to mask exempt unless they wear a shield

[LifelsAPigsty]

Surely this is discrimination? Some people who can't wear a mask can't wear a visor either (I can't, I have trigeminal neuralgia and can't tolerate any pressure on my face/head/temples). There are other conditions which make wearing them impossible, too. I'm sure the government guidelines state this sort of action isn't permitted?

I don't shop at Costco personally but I'm so worried other places will follow suit (and no, I can't avoid shops sadly - no delivery slots for months here and I don't drive so no c&c. Also no friends/relatives to shop for me).

Yet another layer of anxiety and worry

Completely agree with the policy. There may be vulnerable staff. Just because you are exempt doesn’t mean you can’t infect other people!

because they have a disability?

It’s not ‘because they have a disability’ it’s because they could increase the risk for other people.

I think people who not working professionally with someone need to mind their own business and not give patronising advice telling others what to do about their own health.

@Sirzy

I’ve been in waiting rooms that are appropriately spaced out and you feel safe but I’ve been in smaller ones and even with the distancing, you can be relatively close to others. That’s not to say I think any person should be forced to wear a mask if they can’t but there is additional risk to me and it’s a worry. I wouldn’t dream of passing comment but think it should be acknowledged.

The majority of jobs can be done from home

I think this shows just how out of touch you are.

lots of monitoring can be done by patients though

Blood monitoring cannot.

The ongoing refrain of ‘it’s not just about shopping’ fails to recognise that the point is going out in the minimum amount of circumstances

Where did I say I don't do this? And the 'ongoing refrain' is because hardly anyone seems to have bothered reading my OP or my subsequent posts in which I've said it's not just about shopping, it's about the worrying and illegal precedent Costco have set.

I know you probably think all those who disagree with you are ableist arseholes

No, just the ableist arseholes who resort to abuse, telling me about my condition, tell me I should stay at home and not work, etc.

it may impact your accounting

Giving up work and being unable to claim benefits because I gave up work voluntarily doesn't 'impact my accounting'. It means I will lose my home and be unable to pay my bills/eat.

you will not be as likely to die after the excruciating pain of having oxygen attached to your face

I thought wearing a mask protected others, not me?

@sergeilavrov

“mind their own business” ?!?!

But the OP started a thread to discuss the issue? Or perhaps not to discuss the issue.

The fact remains that anyone without a mask could infect others. An exemption does not signify a magical immunity from the virus. No one has the right to endanger the health of other members of the public.

Op, I do understand your frustration and worry.
But your comment doesn't come across as you do care about other people's worries. There are no simple solutions, but we need to care about others as well as yourself, that include you too. But your comment is only focusing on how you feel and not about others around you.

Perhaps the thing to keep in mind is that this is only temporary. Disability rights are not being eroded forever. These are extenuating circumstances to protect the wider population from a virus and everyone is having to make (temporary) compromises in their everyday life.

At the moment it's a problem for you in a shop you don't use anyway. If it extends to all shops you can buy online or get someone else to pick things up for you (neighbour, friend etc, whoever you'd call on if you had to isolate for any reason).

If it starts to infringe on your ability to get to work (public transport) then I think you'd be right to kick up a fuss. I honestly don't think it'll go that far though and I hope you're not losing any sleep over it.

But the vast majority of these 'exemptions' are not recognised and protected disabilities.

@LifelsAPigsty

Costco can maybe be the first to start a new acceptable trend

Perhaps I'll start a new acceptable trend for shoplifting, or arson. Except I can't, because both are illegal.

OP do you work in Costco? If not, you don't need to go there, you can go somewhere else to do your shop.

I can never understand why people want to spend their money with people who don't want them, like the gay couples and the "Christian" B&Bs. Why insist on staying with bigots? If they're that stupid, stay somewhere else! I wouldn't spend my money somewhere that treated women as being appendages for men, for example (like some car showrooms). Discrimination is a legal wrong but voting with your credit card is quicker and more effective than legal action.

OP, there are plenty of options for you. Go elsewhere, do click and collect, do online shopping, or as you are a member, speak to Costco to arrange an exception. You won't be the only one.

"No one has the right to endanger the health of other members of the public."

But it is their right to make decisions about their own health - which is what I said on my post.

By the way people with masks on can infect other people. Some of them will be more likely to infect others than the person without a mask because of the risky mixing that they or people in their household do.

@Xerochrysum

Op, I do understand your frustration and worry. But your comment doesn't come across as you do care about other people's worries. There are no simple solutions, but we need to care about others as well as yourself, that include you too. But your comment is only focusing on how you feel and not about others around you.

I've said many, many times on this thread and others that I would love to wear a mask, that I hate not wearing one. When it became clear that I couldn't I actually cried. People I know have died from Covid - the guilt and worry I feel is very real, as I have said.

This is a thread about people (not just me) potentially negatively impacted at work, medical settings, public transport etc by an illegal precedent set by a retailer. That's the topic of this thread. It's perfectly possible to feel concern for more than one set of people. I am concerned for those negatively impacted by those who cannot wear masks; I am also concerned for those who are abused, threatened and vilified due to health conditions which prevent them from wearing masks.

The worrying thing for me is not the OP who can't wear a mask, it's the many people who appear to be choosing not to or not wearing them properly. They are the ones who have caused those with genuine exemptions to be discriminated against in this way.

@itsmymess

But the vast majority of these 'exemptions' are not recognised and protected disabilities.

Which exemptions do you mean?

I can’t physically wear a mask due a facial impairment (think I don’t have ears!)

It doesn’t bother me when people see I can’t wear one. I also can’t wear a shield due to this facial disability. But it’s very visible. So I’ve had no problems this pandemic.

I do all of my shop online. OP Amazon does food shopping if you get stuck

If it happens. It happens. I don’t go out anyway. Plus I have awesome friends who would never see me starve. Thankfully.

The thing is

This is getting out of control. We need to stem it and if that means me who can’t wear a mask stays in for the next 6 months and gets my shop to deliver it. Then so be it

The Red Cross can also help. Seeing as you’ve got no friends or family to help. Nor can you drive. Nor is there any slots.

@Beautifulbonnie

The thing is

This is getting out of control. We need to stem it and if that means me who can’t wear a mask stays in for the next 6 months and gets my shop to deliver it. Then so be it

The Red Cross can also help. Seeing as you’ve got no friends or family to help. Nor can you drive. Nor is there any slots.

I will still need to go to work, use public transport to get there, go to the hospital, and so on. I can't just not so these things for six months, or longer. As I keep saying, this is not just about shopping.

I'm glad you have people close to you who can help - must be huge relief.

I'm not vulnerable so never qualified for those.

My other worry is if this policy is adopted elsewhere, not just shops but public transport etc too.

@LifelsAPigsty

Just ring up the closest one end ask to be given priority spots. You don’t have to say why you need one. They put you on a list. Job done.

Op, I have a child with very weak immune system. He is actually going under 3 years immuno therapy. I have worn masks in the house while I was under the weather so not to pass on whatever virus I had way before covid.
So, although I understand your difficulty, I also don't want to get infected while I'm shopping. Should I only do online shopping so people who can't wear mask can shop?

I totally get your point, but it's not always black and white. And from what I see, the Costco gave people the compromise not to wear mask but to wear face shield instead. Only thing I saw from your comment was that government don't approve, which from me, you are totally missing the point . For people who are worried about getting this illness, face shield is better than nothing.

@LifelsAPigsty

Then use the other options

The priority spots. The Red Cross. Many many charities have options to help you.

I live in a tiny village and we have at least 30. Facebook have village helpers. Try those. Churches will help. Surely you have a church near you?

Other than that. Attend work. Attend the hospital. They don’t need you to wear a mask.

Also as I stated. Amazon do food. Which you don’t need a slot for. You also save up and buy £40 worth of food each time. Rather than lots of smaller shops there and back.

@LifelsAPigsty But you’re surely aware that you are not the only one not wearing a mask at all times? Hence your viral load will also be greater. Selective listening it seems isn’t just amongst those who don’t recognise your concerns beyond Costco...

Also. The zsheild

These are awesome. They protect better than wearing nothing. Plus you’d get less hassle

A win win for all

[quote Beautifulbonnie]@LifelsAPigsty

Then use the other options

The priority spots. The Red Cross. Many many charities have options to help you.

I live in a tiny village and we have at least 30. Facebook have village helpers. Try those. Churches will help. Surely you have a church near you?

Other than that. Attend work. Attend the hospital. They don’t need you to wear a mask.[/quote]
I'm glad you have helpers in your village. I live in a large city and they are run off their feet. They only help those with a positive test result, those who are SI and those who are vulnerable. As I have said.

The view of many on this thread is that those who cannot wear masks need to stay at home. Why in your view are masks not needed at work (where I spend ten hours a day with people I do not live with) or at hospital, but they are required for a ten minute nip around Asda?

Unfortunately I need to say this again. This is not about my shopping, or even my work, or hospital appointments. It's about the dangerous, illegal precedent set by a retailer and the worry that others will adopt it.