Face Mask Flouter Spits at San Jose Service Workers
SAN JOSE (KPIX) -- The signs in front of Umai Savory Dogs in northeast San Jose make it clear: masks are required inside.
On Tuesday one customer disagreed.
"We asked her politely to put on a mask and she refused," said Andrew Lam of Umai Savory Dogs.
After ordering garlic fries, she leaned forward and spit at the cashier.
Luckily, there was plexiglass between the cashier and the customer.
"Nobody wants to get spit on. It's not a pleasant thing," Lam said.
The customer then went next door to Tastea and did the same thing on their window and then again, allegedly, at the Wells Fargo across Berryessa Road later the same day.
As the pandemic wears on, it's often employees who are left to enforce mask mandates on a weary and increasingly hostile clientele.
"The mask mandates have been very confusing for all of us and it doesn't help that we have impending changes. In California and Santa Clara county our mask mandates may change on June 15 when we expect to fully reopen," said San Jose city spokesperson Carolina Camarena.
The city of San Jose says anyone who removes their mask and spits on another person can face assault charges, as we saw months ago when a teacher was charged for coughing on a child.
Inside Umai, the kitchen is typically ten degrees hotter than the outside, thanks to the toasters and the grills, but employees are still wearing masks indoors.
"I feel like everybody should play a part in the community to help end this pandemic or bring it closer to ending this pandemic. So, if I have to wear my mask in there, I don't mind if it helps the community out," Lam said.
