Coronavirus ~ COVID-19

[Gráinne]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaMa'am

I think I'll be okay - at least, I think I've got everything covered that I can (food, work from home, plenty of TP). But what concerns me most is that my boy works in a major chain grocery store. They have _increased_ his hours, although they are shutting the store early every night (8 pm) so they can clean and disinfect and restock shelves. He has a bunch of concerns I had not even thought about:

• He says about 70% of people "get it" and are patient and polite. But the other 30% are just concerned about themselves, and just want to know why the store doesn't have their favorite whatever and when will they have it, and are impatient in the long lines and rude to the workers and other customers.
• Apparently when restocking the store, they are unable to completely restock. If _all_ Publix grocery stores are sold out of a thing, say chicken, then they can't redistribute. They are _all_ out. And when the restocking trucks come, they don't have as much as they used to. So if they are used to getting 20 crates of chicken with every chicken truck delivery, they might only get 2 crates. (I think this is when people will really start to hoard - when they notice that not only is the store out of something, it never gets fully restocked. And that could lead to more panic.)
• He says they are cleaning things that have never been cleaned before, and this is hard on his body. I mean, he's not a young kid any more.

The panic and bad moods really wear on him. I mean, he's in a customer service job, and he's used to it, but the volume of it is wearing on him. He's also working in a place where he could so easily catch COVID-19. He washes his hands and uses sanitizer, but he's around so many people. And he is immunocompromised - he has lung problems. And I have a pretty weak immune system too - but I can't just kick him out of the house and do "social distancing". He has places he could stay, but none of them are better than here.

I also hope we don't get on each other's nerves. We're not used to being around each other this much.

Those are my concerns at my job, too. Crowds are getting panicky and harried. We had a fight in the parking lot the other day. There have been screaming matches in the aisles over God knows what. Scuttlebutt is that the police-not a rent a cop- I mean police-will be stationed there.

And I'm pooped, and paranoid every time I cough. My son with literally no immune system is behind quarantine. If not at work, I'm at home (true, with plenty to do besides fooling around online .

I found out today from my doctor that it's a matter of when, not if, I get exposed due to my job. Those crowds are doing the exact opposite of what is recommended; lots of people in a confined place. Thanksgiving for a virus.

I'm healthy, so I'm not as worried about myself at this point. What I fear are the elderly who shop with us. I've volunteered to do shopping for them in my condo complex, which was gratefully accepted.