Woman who coughed at B.C. grocery store employee found guilty of assault

A woman has been found guilty of assault after she intentionally coughed on a grocery store employee in the early days of the pandemic in Campbell River.

A woman has been found guilty of assault after she intentionally coughed on a grocery store employee in the early days of the pandemic in Campbell River.

The incident dates back to April 24, 2020, at the local Save On Foods grocery store.

At the time, provincial health regulations mandated that shoppers stay at least six feet apart from one another, and that grocery stores put a limit on how many customers were inside at a time.

No mask mandates were in effect.

The court heard from several Save On Foods employees that Kimberly Woolman walked into the store and asked why a section had been cordoned off.

Employee Jacqueline Poulton explained that the area was off limits because it was too small a space to accommodate the province's mandate of having customers stay six feet apart.

"When Ms. Poulton explained the store policy and requirement to comply with public health orders, Ms. Woolman told her COVID was not real and that it was stupid," said Judge Barbara Flewelling, who was summarizing Poulton's recollection of events.