A week after a south Charlotte Ben & Jerry’s issued an apology for hosting an event with a maskless Santa, the same jolly actor known as “Santa Doug” Eberhart, was once again in defiance of Gov. Cooper’s statewide mask mandate at a holiday event.
Hawthorne at the Glen, a luxury apartment complex in Concord, N.C., hosted the Santa for a community event on Tuesday night. “Santa Doug”, who claims to be “Charlotte’s Outstanding Santa” on his website RentASanta.com, broke COVID-19 protocols by not wearing a face covering in public. Witnesses say the Santa also made contact with several people he greeted during the event, ignoring social distancing recommendations of six feet or more. The actions by Eberhart received backlash from some residents, who cited safety concerns directly to Hawthorne at the Glen’s management.
According to WSOC-TV, the ice creamery hosted an event with Eberhart at its location on Fairview Road last Wednesday night. The shop even posted on its Facebook that “word from the North Pole is that Santa forgot his mask.”
Ben & Jerry’s later apologized, saying it “did not adhere to the strict processes and practices we have in place to support the safety of our customers and staff, including requiring masks, gloves, frequent sanitizing, and social distancing for all of our fans in our shop.”
A maskless husband and wife posing as Santa and Mrs. Claus exposed 50+children to COVID-19 in Ludowici, Georgia. This happened at a Christmas parade and tree lighting ceremony on Dec. 10. The couple showed no symptoms at the event, but later tested positive for the virus. A long county official said they do not ‘feel this incident is cause for panic’ as children are exposed to such risks in schools as well.
Neither Eberhart or representatives for Hawthorne at the Glen responded to separate requests for comment by WBT.
Maskless Santa hosts another Charlotte holiday event was originally published on wbt.com
