OMG, those idiots. I successfully argued with a military medical facility a couple of years ago about this. I take medications that keep my immune system knocked down and cannot be around people who have taken the flu mist. Finally got the “military medical facility” to agree and now they give my husband and kids the shot. They always want to give the mist because it is apparently cheaper. I got in a huge shouting match with a chief and I’m guessing that I wasn’t the only one upset. He had the nerve to tell my husband to just sleep on the sofa for a couple of days. Forget that he could have killed me. Jerk.
The virus can survive for hours on things you touch or cough on, perhaps even longer. When a person is coughing, they don't particularly control where the sputum might land, do they?
Those folks were dangerous fools. Good for you for standing your ground.