A Kentucky woman has recently gone viral after she justified her decision to cut a hole in her face mask by insisting the hole makes it “easier to breathe” through, New York Post reported.
The unnamed woman with a seriously poor understanding of how face masks work was featured in a TikTok video that has since blown up on the social sharing app for obvious reasons.
Information about the coronavirus pandemic is rapidly changing and Diply is committed to providing the most recent data as it becomes available. Some of the information in this story may have changed since publication, and we encourage readers to use online resources from CDC and WHO to stay up to date on the latest information surrounding COVID-19.
In the video, TikTok user Joe Samaan encounters the woman during his shift at an S J Food Mart outside Lexington.
After having only briefly caught sight of the woman as she walked inside the store, he pulled out his phone and started recording a video , likely thinking no one would believe him without actual proof.
“So this girl’s coming in with her mask on,” he tells the camera. “Y’all need to see this.”
He then discreetly turns his phone on the woman who approaches the counter wearing a paper face mask with a hole cut out to expose her nose and mouth.
Clearly she had made some attempt to follow public safety measures during the current coronavirus outbreak by wearing a mask inside the store, but had then rendered that mask completely and utterly useless by take a pair of scissors to it.
Samaan completes the woman’s transaction before he finally addresses the DIY mask she’s sporting.
“Where did you get that mask from?” he asks, prompting the woman to reply, “Well since we have to wear them and it makes it hard to breathe, [cutting it] makes it a lot easier to breathe.”
After clarifying that she did, in fact, cut that hole in the mask herself, Saaman quips, “Yeah sure I’ll do that too, thanks for the advice.”
It should really go without saying, but please don’t cut holes in your face masks.
The whole point of wearing a mask is to limit the spread of the virus by restricting transmission through our mouths and noses. As the Atlantic reported, we’re not wearing masks to protect ourselves, but to protect others.
Snipping a hole in one to “breathe” through is basically the same as not wearing a mask at all.
Since the video was uploaded to TikTok on April 30, it’s been viewed more than 5 million times.
In the comments, people have been quick to point out that much like her mask, the woman’s logic also has one-too-many holes in it.
“Coronavirus also makes it pretty hard to breathe,” one user wrote, while another added that the woman’s adjustment to her mask “defeats the whole purpose.”
Some users even pointed out that the woman’s *holey* mask wasn’t the only problem with this video.
As she approaches Saaman at the register, we can see that she actually leans down to speak to him below the protective glass shield that’s been installed to act as a barrier between him and customers.
So as it turns out, she’s actually two for two during this trip to the store.
Watch the full video below.
RELATED STORIES
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says masks should cover the mouth and nose completely.
It even helpful lists instructions on how to properly wear a face mask on its website . And no where on there does it say you should ever cut a hole in one to help you “breathe easier.”
So please just… don’t do that.
