‘Let’em die. I’m so tired of these people’

A viral video showing people in a Florida grocery store shopping without masks has sparked intense reactions on social media.

“Naples, Florida. Let’em die. I’m so tired of these people. No vaccines for y’all,” prominent doctor Cleavon Gilman wrote in a now-deleted tweet in response to the video.

In the 15-second video, customers and employees are seen inside Oakes Farms Seed to Table store without wearing masks. It has since spread on social media, racking up nearly 3 million views since it was first posted Wednesday.

Many have condemned the scene, laying blame on the store’s owner, who posted a sign saying employees would not enforce mask-wearing if a person has a medical condition.

Others have defended the store, saying Florida might be the “most free state in the nation.”

The Today show spoke with Alfie Oakes, the store’s owner, who said that he doesn’t believe masks help mitigate the spread of the virus, which contradicts guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“I know that the masks don’t work. And I know that the virus has not killed 400,000 people in this country. That’s total hogwash,” Oakes said. “Why don’t we shut the world down because of a heart attack? Why don’t we lock down cities because of heart attacks?”

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This 15-second clip of Naples, Florida customers shopping without masks is spreading outrage

© Sam Brock/NBC THE MARGIN The customer isn’t always right.  Video footage of maskless Naples, Fla., grocery shoppers being rung up by cashiers — who also aren’t wearing masks —- was spreading outrage on social media on Thursday.  NBC News reporter Sam Brock said that he was reporting on […]