The mask debate is reaching new peaks again, as California decides to wait until June 15 to lift the state mask mandate.
A South Bay restaurant had to deal with an unruly customer who refused to wear a mask and spit at workers.
The incident happened Tuesday at Umai Savory Hot Dogs in East San Jose.
The video of the incident was posted on popular app Tik Tok.
The video appears to show a woman refusing to wear a mask and then spitting at an employee before she left.
Employee Kristine Nguyen was working behind the counter at the time of the incident.
“She was like ‘no, I have the right not to wear a mask,” she said. “So, I pointed at our window which has a mask saying face masks required upon entry and at that point she got frustrated and spit at the screen protector.”
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Nguyen says she even offered a mask to the woman. Right after it happened, they called police but the woman left before officers got there.
“I just stood in here in shock,” she added. “Because this was my first time encountering this kind of thing.”
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This incident comes as masking becomes a top discussion at every business and store in California.
While the CDC said you don’t have to wear one if you’re fully vaccinated, state officials have mandated mask usage for another month.
“Lately, we’ve been getting a lot more resistance to people who don’t want to wear masks. I think it’s just people feel more comfortable now whether it’s because they’re vaccinated or whatnot,” said restaurant owner Dat Thieu.
Thieu told NBC Bay Area that he filed a report and San Jose police are looking into it. He said that it’s actually the third time this has happened with this woman. But Thieu said Tuesday’s encounter was the worst.
Restaurant employees like Nguyen are asking on behalf of all local businesses who’ve been through so much these past 15 months for people to be kind.
“It’s important to still adhere to the rules especially when you’re in a business. people are here to serve you,” she said.
“A lot of people see it on the news that things are opening up, but as a business owner, we’re still going through it and it’s going to be a long road ahead to get back to normalcy,” Thieu said.
