If what started in quaint, quiet Purcellville, VA as a silly and childish way to mock the Coronavirus panic catches on nationally, Americans have one more thing to worry about at grocery stores beyond the shortage of Chef Boyardee. A prank allegedly kicked off by Virginia teenagers quickly evolved into a national meme of kids walking around grocery stores and “sneezing” or “coughing” on everything from groceries to nearby patrons.
Most of the videos disappear from Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or TikTok as soon as they hit with concerned viewers reporting them as violations. The London tabloid press managed to capture some examples featuring reaction videos of grocery store patrons ducking for cover when a hooded teen walks by with an unprotected, if fake “cough.”
Teen video creators are making a social media meme out of coughing on grocery store produce to mock ... [+]
The Purcellville Police Department used social media to announce on March 19 that its officers were aware local kids were pulling these viral video tricks at an area store. That report warned that these juveniles who were reportedly “coughing on produce, while filming themselves and posting it on social media” could face severe legal consequences for inciting public panic and violating the curfew set by local government to encourage social distancing.
Purcellville authorities warned that this juvenile attempt at humor was going national: “We have learned that this appears to be a disturbing trend on social media across the country, and we ask for help from parents to discourage this behavior immediately. “
Within 24 hours, those same officers returned to social channels to state they detained the phantom sneezers of Purcellville. An official announcement declared that police identified the juveniles involved, notified their parents, and subsequently interviewed the subjects.
The reports adds: “The investigation concluded the teenagers were getting close to other patrons and coughing into their own sleeves, while filming it on their phones. After viewing the video footage, officers determined no actual customers or produce were spit or coughed on directly.”
The juveniles questioned copped to the coughing, and officers backed off of their threats of punitive action — determining there was no actual criminal intent beyond foolish stunts. No chargers were filed, and the names of those detained were not released due to their ages.
Shoppers who didn't wash their produce before the COVID-19 outbreak will now that teens are coughing ... [+]
Neither the original police report of the incident nor the announcement that the kids were banged up identified the store in question. That was presumably to save the retailer further embarrassment and potential damage to business already under threat from the Coronavirus. Still, police were quick to insist that the grocery store instituted further sanitary procedures to an already extensive anti-virus list.
When Virginia’s case of juvenile germ hijinks closed, area police essentially marked it down as a “boys being boys” incident and warned that kids with too much free time on their Purell-staind hands can find ways to cause trouble.
“With school closures in effect, this allows for more idle time among children, especially teenagers who are often not supervised as closely. However, we still ask that parents continue to monitor their children’s activities, including social media viewing and posting, and to discourage the promotion of any such fear-inducing behavior.”
There’s no reports yet of similar arrests in other cities where this meme took hold, and time will tell if other jurisdictions will be as understanding.
