Went into my Western Bank branch in far west valley

[marybourg]

this morning and was shocked to see 5 employees and 4 customers - everyone then in the bank - maskless. After a surprised question, I did my business quickly, and e-mailed the main address in, I think, North Dakota, when I came home.

Was called back shortly by a local employee, who got an earful from me. They seem to be following the rules for OUTDOORS inside the bank. And not even doing that well. They seem to think the pandemic is over. Since I report the numbers here every morning, I had them to hand — 882 new cases yesterday in AZ and 23 new deaths! Someone in management is listening to rw nutjobs. I told the local employee I want a callback from the person who made the decision to go maskless in the bank. We’ll see if that happens.

[pandr32]

1. Good for you

We all need to be proactive.

[marybourg]

18. Thank you.

[niyad]

2. Good for you.

[marybourg]

19. Thanks!

[TNNurse]

3. Are you going to threaten to move your money???

[marybourg]

14. I've moved my money so many times for

actual financial service related horror stories over the course of my nearly 6 decades of banking for myself that I have no where else to go! Sad, but true.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

4. Same in TX... It's like a macho thing. They don't want the rednecks to move $$

[calimary]

5. Eager to hear if they do call you back, and what they have to say.

[Rebl2]

6. My bank here

in the Kansas City area still won’t let customers in the lobby without an appointment. If you need something notarized in most cases it has to be done through drive through.

[Jilly_in_VA]

7. Samesies

here in Virginia.

[soldierant]

8. Move your mney to a Credit Union. nt

[marybourg]

12. Unfortunately, the c.u. near me is horrible. I had 3 incidents

there where the people they put out in front were unable to help, and the experienced people who might have known how to help were chattering in the back room and made no effort. This was quite a few years ago, but I have no desire to try again, AZ has fewer requirements for c.u.’s than other states. No affiliation group needed. Back east, I always used a c.u.

[soldierant]

20. Oh, that's too bad. So sorry.

[TomDaisy]

9. what happened to "the customer is always right"

[marybourg]

13. I guess the 4 maskless customers who were in the

bank when I walked in were right first! The local employee who called me told me I could have asked everyone to put on their masks when I walked in! Can you imagine?

[cannabis_flower]

31. In this case maybe but....

The customer is not always right.

Sometimes they are drunk or crazy or a criminal trying to cheat a business.

The customer will always be listened to and given fair consideration, but they aren’t always right.

[northoftheborder]

10. Place where I get pedicures (necessary because of foot problems)

is no longer masking, either requiring of clients or themselves; said they were following state health rules. This is Texas. I wore my mask, but did not complain; I had complained during the winter, when they were very lax with the then strict rules for everyone. I may have to find a new place; I'm still masking up even though I've had two vaccines. The CDC is my guide, not the state of Texas under Abbott who opened up the state last month without consulting anyone.

[marybourg]

15. The issue here in AZ is the same. RW governor.

[noneof_theabove]

16. Same here

just south of nueces river and the coast.

With my age and health will probably not get see a "purple pill" that fixes The Stupid.

Best of health to you.

[wnylib]

11. The store near me where I bought

most of my surgical masks put them on sale and is not ordering more. Same with their cloth masks. When double masking, I wear cloth over surgical. The cloth mask closes up the gaps on the sides of the surgical one. The surgical mask seals better at the nose bridge.

The store manager told me the pandemic is pretty much over now so they are selling off their masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer. I noticed more employees wth their masks around their necks or below their noses. I am seeing more custoners there and at a few other stores who are no longer distancing in line or in the aisles.

I have a feeling that the more infectious British version of the virus, which is the dominant version in the US now, will ramp up, like it is in Canada, because people are acting like the pandemic is done.

I check the stats from my county health department daily. It's a very rural county with two small cities and a few villages and "four corners." The total county population is well under 200,000. New infection numbers vary from 20 to 40 each day. Hospitalizations are starting to occur again after a lull in February. Two new deaths recently, first ones in a few months. Over a third of new cases are in two age groups, under 20, and 20 to 30.

It is not over.

[marybourg]

17. Amazing!

[Hekate]

26. Hopefully you'll be able to stock up there while the prices are low. Good grief...

If you are anywhere near a Costco store (& if you want to buy a membership), they are still stocking the procedure masks & the price has dropped since the early days — they are by-the-box and at one point it came to about 15c per mask. The stretchy cloth masks are solid black, and are over by the underwear aisle in my store in packages of four.

[wnylib]

27. No Costco around here. But my CVS store is still

selling boxes of surgical masks. They cost more than the ones I bought at the other store. I still have about 3/4 left of a box of 50, plus several inividual packages of 5 to a package. I have several cloth masks that I have accumulated over the months. When sanitizer and 70% alcohol started reappearing on shelves after they were scarce, I stocked up on them.

So I am ok for now. But I am concerned about what will happen if mutated variants of the virus spread more widely within the US. The Brazilian and South African strains have been found in a few places in the US. Americans in India want to come home. Remember when American exchange students returned from Italy last year during a peak of Italian infections? They were supposed to quarantine on their campuses, but sneaked out to visit friends. American business people from Europe and China returned. And then all hell broke out in NYC and other locations.

I hope we don't see a repeat of that, but it could happen if people get too lax now. The US vaccination rate is good so far compared to other countries, but some virus mutations are able to slip by the immune systens of vaccinated people.

In the 1918 flu pandemic, people let their guard down too soon when cases started falling, and then new waves followed, probably mutations, but we weren't able to track and identify mutations back then.

[asiliveandbreathe]

21. You are special..not only with reporting AZ covid numbers everyday..but also

speaking up..you see something, say something..good for you..I appreciate your efforts..your reporting is like my barometer for how I will plan my day.

Hubby and I are 4 weeks out from our 2nd shots in March..but I refuse to let my guard down..Mask whenever I go to the grocery store..even pick up food order - MASK...

Hugs...

[marybourg]

22. Thank you. That made my day.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

23. Still fighting with my own damn family about masks indoors.

(Gave up even trying outdoors, no matter how close together. ) And they're Dems. My 80yo mother does wear a mask in the supermarket, etc. Yet, she lets a six man crew of (Republican) bathroom remodelers in her house maskless, not just risking her own health, but that of my husband and me.

When my husband politely asked the crew to mask up, they did (but had to be repeatedly reminded), but said most of their clients say, "Don't bother." Our state still requires them to mask up when entering clients' homes. But, instead, they're irresponsibly going into one home after another, potentially spreading the virus. Arrogant idiots.

[marybourg]

24. Sorry you have to fight with your own family!

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

25. Thanks. It's so hard. We were visiting Mom again for a few days this week

and I almost packed up & went home the morning after we arrived because one of the crew was back to finish up some work and she ignored me when I signalled to her to have him mask up. When I spoke to her, she said he wouldn't be there long. I was so frustrated with her (and him!)

[Desert_Leslie]

28. Just FYI re Masks --

I'll just throw this out for your information.

I am a 67-year-old with a chronic illness, so when the pandemic hit I spent literally days searching online for N95 masks. I found them at Thomas Scientific, online at thomassci.com

I have zero connection with this company -- just found them online. They seem to be a large, reputable company. From their website:

Thomas Scientific provides the latest in equipment and supplies to the science community. In accordance to the tradition of the original founders, Thomas Scientific itself provides individualized customer service, innovative scientific equipment, and a comprehensive portfolio offering a wide selection of product listings at a great deal. We are a registered contractor for the U.S. Federal Government.

They have not had the higher-grade 3M N95 masks in stock, but they seem to always have these Giko brand masks in stock. $22 for a box of 20. Notice that this mask is approved by NIOSH -- in other words, they are not fakes. I went to the CDC.gov site to verify that, and yes, they are on the approved mask list.

Search for Giko on the thomassci.com website.

Giko Model 1200H Particulate Respirator, N95

The mask body adopts a 3D pressureless production process to prevent the mask from collapsing and deforming, without destroying the original performance of the filter material, improving the filtering efficiency of the mask and reducing breathing resistance.
The aluminum nose clip can be shaped arbitrarily according to the shape of the nose bridge to ensure the secure fit of the mask on and around the nose.
The high-density sponge strip relieves the pressure on the nose and is more comfortable to wear.
Elastic braided headband design provides long-term comfort.
Conforms to NIOSH CFR42 P.84 N95 protection level
NIOSH Approval Number 84A-4653

[BobTheSubgenius]

29. As Frank Zappa put it:

“There is more stupidity around than hydrogen and it has a longer shelf life.”

[marybourg]

30. Too true, unfortunately.

[ChazII]

32. My Desert Financial is still

requiring masks to enter the building.

[marybourg]

33. Everywhere I've been, other than that bank, is

at least making an effort. I think the bank president is listening to his rwnj friends, much like our last, unlamented occupant of the w.h..