Covid 19 coronavirus: Northland woman mocked for wearing face mask

A Northland woman says she was laughed at for wearing a face mask in Kerikeri — even though she had just travelled from Auckland and was wearing it to protect people like the man mocking her.

Now Sonya Ihimaera is urging people not to make judgments about others without knowing why they are taking precautions against Covid.

Sonya Ihimaera was mocked for wearing a face mask in Kerikeri, even though she’d just travelled from the outbreak’s South Auckland epicentre. Photo / supplied

The Whangaroa 65-year-old travelled to Auckland with her husband last week for a tangi, but the latest Covid-19 outbreak was discovered while they were in the city.

By then, however, they had already been shopping in South Auckland and had met and hugged a vulnerable 87-year-old.

The funeral was due to take place on Wednesday afternoon, just hours after Auckland's level 3 lockdown came into force.

With the service suddenly limited to just 10 people, Ihimaera and her husband opted to head home and leave those 10 spaces to close relatives.

They got up at 4.30am on Wednesday planning to drive home without stopping before the lockdown started, then self-isolate. However, by the time they got to the Kerikeri turn-off Ihimaera needed a toilet stop.

She parked outside the Kerikeri loos and — to protect anyone she might meet, given that she had come straight from the outbreak's epicentre — donned a mask and gloves leftover from the first lockdown.

As she stepped out of her truck she saw a tall man, older than herself, walking towards her and laughing.

''I said, 'Why are you laughing?' He laughed again, really loud, in a mocking way, then made a gesture as if to say I was cuckoo.''

Ihimaera said she was tired from the drive, upset about the sudden death she'd travelled to Auckland for, worried about the 87-year-old she might have exposed to the virus, and concerned about her and her husband's own health issues.

''So I was stunned and pretty upset with his behaviour. The thing is, I had put the mask on to protect the likes of him.''

She later wrote a brief post on a Kerikeri Facebook page and discovered her experience was far from unique.

One woman said she had a compromised immune system due to cancer treatment, yet was mocked for wearing a mask; another, who has lung problems, was laughed at twice in one Kerikeri supermarket visit.

Ihimaera said it was wrong to judge others without knowing their backstory or reasons for needing to wear a face mask.

She suspected the mocking reactions were based on preconceived notions of masks or Covid.

''We have a responsibility to not just take care of ourselves and out own needs, but to be kaitiaki (guardians) to each other... We need to support anyone who wants to wear a mask for whatever reason.''

In level 3 face masks are not mandatory in New Zealand but they are ''strongly encouraged'' in all public places.

In level 2 they are recommended in places where 2m social distancing is not possible, for example on public transport.