Fact check: Can't say teachers are safer in class than at Walmart

Joel Shannon | USA TODAY

USA TODAY

A small-town police department in Maryland has reminded residents to wear pants while checking the mail, yet another sign that many people working during stay-at-home orders are dressing casually, if they're getting dressed at all.

"Please remember to put pants on before leaving the house to check your mailbox. You know who you are. This is your final warning," the Taneytown Police Department wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday.

Taneytown Mayor Bradley Wantz said later in the week that the post "was simply humor" from a department Facebook page that is "a mix of information and entertainment." The statement came after some residents expressed concerns that the department was overstepping its authority.

This isn't the first time the department, which serves about 7,200 citizens, has used its social media account to post topical commentary to its 11,000 followers.

The department did not immediately return a USA TODAY request for comment Wednesday.

Fact check: US Postal Service will not close in June

Humor aside, one thing is for sure: Pants are not a big priority for many Americans these days.

As working from home and teleconferencing become the new norm during the coronavirus pandemic, shirts have become a more essential clothing item than pants, according to Walmart.

“We’re seeing increased sales in tops, but not bottoms,” Dan Bartlett, Walmart’s executive vice president of corporate affairs, told Yahoo! Finance about people who use Zoom and other types of video conferencing.

Contributing: Joshua Bote

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