BC woman coughs on deli manager, claims coronavirus is a hoax

"I approached her and asked her to step back which she refused to, saying this whole thing has been blown completely out of proportion and it’s bullshit,” said Cody Younker, manager of the deli.

The woman became irate and claimed that the entire COVID-19 pandemic is a hoax.

"She proceeded to cough in my direction, and I actually felt it on my body. And she said 'there you go, if I’m sick now you’re sick too,'” said Younker. "That was pretty disgusting."

Younker said he threatened to call the RCMP to have the woman escorted from the deli but the woman wasn't scared and continued shopping before starting another argument at the cash reigster over bottle returns being discontinued.

"I was just astonished at what had just happened," said Younker. "I was a little shaken up by that." He said it's the only incident of its kind at the deli that he's seen during the pandemic.

"We’ve had a few customers in the store that have still been somewhat upset with the procedures and regulations we’ve put in place," said Younkers. "But honestly, about 99.9 percent of people have been really thankful for what we’re doing so they can continue to shop."

Unfortunately, this isn't an isolated story, there have been a string of incidents that involve somebody coughing or spitting at another person while out in public. The trend is a result of certain people not wanting to obey the new social distancing measures that have been brought in to slow the spread of coronavirus. It's become so prevalent with cops that even the head of the Canadian Police Association had to remind the general public that it is a form of assault.

Professor of Psychology at UBC, Dr. Anita DeLongis has been researching this type of behaviour since the SARS outbreak of 2002, and claims that her findings reveal that this type of reaction from some people is inevitable. Her research team also looked at the West Nile and H1N1 virus outbreaks and saw a similar reaction to amongst certain people.

“We’re seeing exactly the same pattern,” said DeLongis. It looks as though it all boils down to a person's empathy. Those who are more empathetic, “are engaging in social distancing regardless of whether or not they personally feel the disease is threatening,” she said. “In our findings, we are seeing people who are low in empathy… they’re self-reporting that they are not socially distancing unless they feel really personally threatened."

Delongis said that the woman in the Revelstoke deli isn't just lacking in empathy however, she is in denial. "She’s expressing a lot of denial about this disease, she’s saying it’s a hoax,” said DeLongis. "It’s very clear this is not a hoax.”

DeLongis said that the woman’s behaviour is completely predictable and aligns with her research on people's reactions to the SARS outbreak. "If you engage in denial you’re less likely to engage in health behaviours that are recommended by the (World Health Organization) and the (Centers for Disease Control), and you’re more likely to engage in discrimination and aggressive kinds of responses,”

"That’s really consistent with our findings, even though (the Revelstoke woman) is a particular individual that we can’t really speak to.”

DeLongis said she and her team will continue to study how people behave and cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, including behaviours that are more subtle like not following public health officials and micro-aggressions.