Texas couple booted from bar over ‘no masks’ policy
Is it good to advertise your business as a place where it’s safe to catch COVID-19? One Texas bar seems eager to find out.
A couple said they were kicked out of a bar for violating its “no masks allowed” policy. And the bar’s owner isn’t backing down.
According to KTVT, Natalie Wester and her husband went to Hang Time, a bar in Rowlett, a suburb of Dallas, last week to see some friends — but did not bring their 4-month-old son who has cystic fibrosis and is immunocompromised. The fully vaccinated couple were told, while wearing masks indoors, that face coverings violated the bar’s dress code.
“Our waitress came over, sat down next to me and said, ‘Our manager sent me over because I am nicer than he is. And yes, this is very political, but you need to take your mask off,’” Wester said.
Wester elaborated about the interaction with the waitress in a Facebook post.
“She then told me that masks are not allowed in their building, and they can make the rules because they are private business,” Wester wrote. “She said that the mask ‘doesn’t work, is like using a chain-link fence to keep out mosquitoes, and doesn’t give people enough oxygen.’”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, anyone over the age of two who is not fully vaccinated should should wear a mask in indoor public places. Data has shown masks to be one of the most-effective ways to prevent the spread of COVID.
Wester said that after she told the waitress about her son’s condition, the waitress offered to close the couple’s check “if it was an issue.”
“I wanted to share this information in case anybody who was actually wise enough to be afraid of COVID could avoid this place,” Wester wrote. “Feel free to share. I am so shocked at the level of ignorance in our country, and scared to think how much worse the pandemic will get knowing so many folks think this way.”
Texas is currently seeing another COVID outbreak, with 1,527 new cases, and 97 deaths, reported Sunday. The state has seen nearly 4 million total cases, almost 10% of the U.S. total, despite having about 7.5% of the country’s population, and 62,323 deaths.
Despite the abundance of scientific information against policies like the one found at Hang Time, owner Tom told KTVT that even though he was now aware the couple’s child had a medical condition, the policy would not be changed.
“I have spent my money on this business. I put my blood, sweat and tears in this business, and I don’t want any masks in here,” he said. “I feel the overall reaction with the masks is ridiculous in the United States right now.”
The U.S. once again passed the 2,000-person average death threshold over the weekend, as the country’s death told reached 673,929.
The incident is the nearly the opposite of one that occurred recently in New York City where a hostess and a group of women fought after the hostess asked for proof of vaccination before seating them.
