Face masks 101: if you’re alone in your car, or with healthy family members, you don’t need to wear a face mask. But if you’re giving someone a lift, or car-pooling, it’s a very bad idea to be without one. So what on earth possessed six healthcare workers in Britain to ride-share sans face masks? No one knows. What we do know is they all got COVID-19 as a result.

All six staff members of the University Hospitals of North Midlands trust were sent home. The trust, one of the largest in Britain’s National Health Service (NHS), the publicly funded healthcare systems in that country, has not divulged what roles the six hapless healthcare workers perform, or at which hospital they work. The fact that the six shared lifts to and from work without wearing masks, breaches government guidelines, which also stipulate that the same people should ride together, the car windows should be opened, and vehicles should be cleaned between trips.

The six were added to the roster of almost 600 personnel working for the trust that have stopped working due to contracting the coronavirus.

The moral of the story? Have a face mask ready for ride-sharing, and use it. Because people can, and do get sick because of laxness in following the public safety guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Be responsible and don’t be one of them.