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A gentle reminder to implement the provincial mandatory mask policy turned into an ugly dispute last week inside an apartment’s elevator.
On Jan. 6, Richmondite Connie Huang visited her daughter in her Vancouver apartment, where Huang ran into a maskless man inside the building’s elevator.
Huang told the Richmond News that she politely asked him to wear a mask in the elevator, but the man, described as more than six feet tall and in his sixties, flew into a rage and started yelling at Huang, saying he was exempt from the mask requirement due to a medical condition.
“I told him I was sorry, that I didn’t know he had a medical condition. However, I was drowned out by his shouting. He even took his phone out to film me at one point,” said Huang. “I felt intimidated.”
Huang said she tried to walk away to diffuse the situation, but the man kept following her after she left the elevator. Later, when it came time to leave, she asked the building’s security guard to accompany her out of the building. Once home, she reported the incident to the Vancouver police.
Huang, who has been working at a local grocery store throughout the pandemic, said this wasn’t the first time she has received a hateful response for asking someone to wear a mask.
“I understand that some might experience mental and physical exhaustion after coping with almost two years of the pandemic, but it doesn’t mean we should stop showing kindness and respect toward others,” said Huang.
Vancouver Police Department confirmed Huang had filed the complaint but said no one was arrested.
