A project to interview essential workers, small business owners, and residents of Central Florida about the impacts the COVID-19 pandemic has had on their lives.
“Its been interesting. A lot of people did not stay home. It didn’t get any slower, but we definitely got a lot more online and DoorDash orders”
Q: Do you feel comfortable?
A: “Yeah, I don’t really know anybody who has gotten it. I feel like if someone I knew got it, it would hit closer to home and I would take it more seriously.”
-Rachel (Clermont, Florida)
“For me personally, not really much [has changed]. I’ve just been paying attention to what people are doing by making sure they’re staying six feet apart and not touching too many things, especially if they’re not wearing gloves or washing their hands. I already like taking care of people, so I just keep doing that.”
Q: Do you feel safe working?
A: “Sometimes it kind of weighs on the options. If anyone is showing symptoms or signs of COVID-19 that obviously makes me feel uneasy, but I still come into work so that I can make sure my family can stay at home.”
‘I’m just hoping everything goes back to normal. I know it’s inevitable that we’re going to be dealing with this for awhile but I’m hoping people are keeping in mind that they still need to keep everyone safe even if it’s just by doing a simple thing like wearing a mask or washing their hands.”
-Leo (Clermont, Florida)
“It’s definitely been a change. We had to reduce our staff. We didn’t fire anybody but we did have to limit them to one day a week.
It’s looking up now though. We’re able to bring people back and business is picking back up. We struggled for a bit but I think we’re going to be okay.”
-Rylee, (Clermont, Florida)
Kondo: “The biggest change we’ve seen is people not being as understanding of why things are the way they are. Business was slow in the beginning but it’s picking up now and we’re just happy to be open.”
Harrison: “We opened for the first time in the first week of March, and just reopened on Wednesday. We were open for about five weeks and then the mandatory stay-at-home happened and we just didn’t have enough to-go orders to keep working.”
Me: “Do you feel comfortable working?”
Harrison: “Yeah, it’s just, you know-”
Kondo: “It’s just everything we’ve been doing already, we just have to be a little more over the top with it.”
-Harrison and Kondo, (Winter Garden, Florida)
“If I had to say one thing, I would just tell people to stay calm. Don’t freak out. Everybody is still the same. Remember that you have neighbors and that they’re not enemies, they’re just people like yourselves.”
Q: How have things changed for you on the job?
A: “Obviously we have a lot of different policies. We had to start wearing masks. Our call volume has definitely slowed down a bit. People are staying inside so it’s not as active but it’s still pretty much the same thing. We’re still out here doing our jobs.”
Q: Do you feel safe doing your job?
A: “I mean, I feel just as anxious as the next person but it’s my job. Law enforcement in general is slightly dangerous.”
-Adam, (Winter Garden, Florida)
I met Mone’t and Gigi (off camera) as I was walking downtown Winter Garden. They were doing graduation pictures and I offered to take some for them. I then asked them what it’s been like as a senior in 2020. This was her answer:
“It’s been pretty rough as a senior. My senior year is basically over. I never went to prom. I never got to finish what I wanted to do as a senior. I mean, it’s hard and it’s sad, but that’s life. I just have to move on and live with it. I just have to make the best out of my college experience.”
Q: If there is one thing you want to say to anybody reading this, what would it be?
A: “Probably my favorite quote. ‘You’re the chosen one. Flowers never pick themselves.’”
-Mone’t, ERHS 2020, (Clermont, Florida)
Mone’t is planning on attending Valdosta State after this is all over.
“People have been so excited to come back. We had a very, very, very successful few days. We really just needed to open. Businesses are struggling from no revenue. The economy is struggling. We are so thankful for those who came out to shop local.”
Q: Do you feel comfortable working?
A: “I do. I really do. I actually have an autoimmune disease. I’m still here working. I’m taking all the necessary precautions, and I trust those precautions. I put my gloves on, put my mask on, and use hand sanitizer. I feel comfortable, and I will do anything to make our guests feel comfortable too.”
“My family is in New Jersey. I know too many people who have died from this, but I also know it isn’t as serious here. My parents on both sides have had someone die from it, but we don’t have that here. So, I just want to feel the most normal that we can. I honestly hate the phrase, ‘the new normal’. In my mind it’s all fear.”
-Leah (Orlando, Florida)
“We just opened up this week actually. It’s been really slow. We normally rely on the businesses around us for customers, but they’re all closed.”
Q: Do you feel comfortable working during COVID?
A: “I feel fine, honestly. I feel like, because I’m young, I would be able to fight it off.”
-Phillip (Winter Garden, Florida)
After speaking with Phillip a little longer, I learned he is a member of a local high school’s graduating class of 2020.
“Normally we have free cookies we give out, but we don’t do that anymore. We also have a bagel [self-service stand], but we don’t have that anymore. They tell us to try to stay away from people, but that’s extremely hard. We’ve been very, very busy. We have people here at odd times that are not normal. We go through stock like crazy. I’m making bread all day.
A lot of people have been thanking me for working still. I mean, I need my paycheck just as much as the next guy.”
Q: Do you feel uncomfortable working?
A: “No, not at all. Publix keeps our stores very, very clean. We keep everything sanitized, everything fresh. I wipe down everything with sanitizer every night. All the things we do- that’s the only reason I feel so comfortable.”
-Nathan (Clermont, Florida)
“For me specifically, not much has really changed. Customers come in with masks, keep their distance, and the store gave us these [plastic shields]. The biggest change has been in the anxiety level.”
-Samuel (Clermont, Florida)
“Because of a decrease in customer flow, a lot of employees have had to move stores. For example, I’ve been to three different stores in the past month just to get hours. The customer interactions have been a lot different. I’ve been getting so many different questions about things I’ve never thought about before.”
-Scott, (Kissimmee, Florida)
“It’s been a little bit strange getting used to doing things differently. People are obviously a little bit nervous, but it hasn’t been too bad for us. The shop was shut down, so we’re kinda staying afloat on the Farmers Market right now. Right now this is the only one that is open, we normally have one in New Smyrna and one in Lake Eola.”
-Unnamed (Mount Dora, Florida)
“A lot of people have been coming in trying to stay six feet apart, but that’s not very easy because, you know, we had to put tape on the floor. A lot of times they won’t see the tape and they’ll just pile up in the back of the store. We’ve also been given these plastic shields, but it’s still open. The virus is still going to go over or around.”
- Steven (Clermont, Florida)
“People are nervous. This is the only market open in the state. The population [of customers] is down. People are staying home. Business is slow, but it’s okay because it’s still here.
Me? I’m doing okay. I wear my mask and I’m not cooped up in my house. I’m not an at risk person, but I do have a lot of friends who are. So what I have been doing is going to the store for them because I’m capable.”
-Maureen (St. Petersburg, Florida)
“This market is the only one we do anymore. At first [working the booth] was a little scary because people didn’t read my signs. They didn’t respect the rules we had to enforce.
Personally, I’ve had many days of depression, extreme anxiety, and many days I couldn’t stop crying. It’s been rough. The man I’m in love with needs an organ transplant but the state has stopped all elective surgeries so we have to wait.
It’s been really hard letting people go. Right before this happened we were in a major growth spurt. Now the price of beef is so high we don’t have any profit.“
-Debs (Lake Mary, Florida)
