SAN JOSE – Authorities are asking for the public’s help in identifying a woman who coughed on a baby at a San Jose business last week, an act that takes on greater significance amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The incident was reported about 5:25 p.m. Friday at the Yogurtland at 5638 Cottle Road, said San Jose police Sgt. Enrique Garcia.
Garcia said the suspect, who was standing in front of a mother and her 1-year-old child, was upset that the mother was not “maintaining proper social distancing,” and removed her face mask, got close to the baby’s face and coughed two to three times.
The suspect then left the business, Garcia said. She had not yet been identified or arrested by Monday evening.
Garcia said the suspect was described as a white woman in her 60s with a medium build. She was last seen wearing a gray bandana, glasses, long-sleeved shirt with gray vertical lines, white dress pants and patterned tennis shoes.
COVID-19 is mostly spread by respiratory droplets released when people talk, cough or sneeze, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Monday, the virus had infected 184,278 people in California, with 5,562 deaths.
Anyone with information about the incident can contact Detective Dan Bowman of the San Jose Police Department’s Assaults Unit at 408-277-4161, or leave a tip with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or at svcrimestoppers.org. Tipsters may be eligible for a cash reward.
