Dis-chem Hillcrest mask policy.

1 May. I went to Dis-chem Hillcrest to buy supplies for my elderly cancer-patient mother. She had just come out of hospital and I needed to stock up. I timed my trip to pre-cede the move to level 3 as I am my mother's primary carer- hence I need to be careful. I was wearing high-quality fine-weave cotton folded four times and tied tightly behind my head as a mask. It covered more of my front-face than a mask. I was not allowed in the store because I didn't have a mask!

I asked to speak to the manager. Rhett came over. I protested that my mask was much more efficient and protective than the flimsy mask he was wearing. Rhett claimed it was the police. "There's no black and white for them. It must look like the diagram of a mask they have been given. They come in three times a day. They'll arrest you on the spot. If yours had ties behind the ears it would be okay."

So I wasn't allowed in and had to expose myself to further risk by going to another shopping centre.

Now I've never heard of the police arresting people because their masks don't look like the diagram. To me this seems like Dis-chem management over-reaching with petty rules. This is complicated by the fact that Dis-chem sells masks. Indeed Rhett said he could take me to a till where I could buy a mask. (,Of course changing a mask would expose me to risk but nevermind ...). Now if Dis-chem was not lying about the police - if people were getting arrested instore for wrongly shaped masks - I would expect Dis-chem to engage with the police to protect their customers from wrongful arrest. Not turn them away or otherwise act to increase their risk of exposure to Covid-19.

I was extremely unimpressed by the policy and by Rhett's approach and demeanor.