When will you feel safe?

[Night Elf]

So we just (finally) got our Shelter at Home directive and it goes through April 13th. So right now, that's the target date that businesses can reopen. DH doesn't for a minute believe that will happen just yet. But it leaves me wondering how I'm going to handle it when businesses finally are able to open again. I'm the main cashier at a non-profit thrift store. I deal directly with the people, their credit cards and money. There is a counter separating us but it's definitely not 6 feet. I'm beginning to dread going back to work. I don't want to lose my job but if my state decides it's time to  get back to normal, do I follow the government's lead or stay home and continue trying to protect myself? No work = No pay, so I don't want to stay out of work too long but there is no way of really knowing how long this will go on. I'm reading some people are saying we won't be safe until the fall. I don't see my state keeping businesses closed that long. 

What do you think?

Edited April 4, 2020 by Night Elf

[MEmama]

Idk. This week I lost all sense of perspective. Suddenly I’m terrified of even going out of my yard. This reaction is completely, totally unlike me.

Right now it's hard for me to imagine how it will change.

[Pen]

You might want to make masks during the Stay Home time.

What you do beyond government mandates may in part depend on your risk factors and ability of your work to do things in a safe way. 

 

Your work place Should probably go with no cash for the duration of the epidemic; and use credit card readers where customers do their own card swiping or insertion; and have more distance and better yet some barrier? between customers and workers. 

[ThisIsTheDay]

(deleted)

Edited April 4, 2020 by ThisIsTheDay

[madteaparty]

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Edited April 4, 2020 by madteaparty

[gardenmom5]

we were one of the first states for a SIP order  - and it was originally six weeks. (when other states were doing two weeks.) it just got extended another week or so until May 4th.

eta: okay - at first the order wasn't as strict as now, because people went out and crowded the beaches.  so the gov revised the order to be more strict..

Edited April 4, 2020 by gardenmom5

[klmama]

Night Owl, at Costco here they set up a table in front of the customer service to add distance, plus they attached a plexiglass panel.   They put taped lines on the floor for people to keep distance from each other.  Maybe you could do something similar.  And no one will care if you wear a mask. 

Edited April 4, 2020 by klmama
Typo

[KidsHappen]

We have seen some places that couldn't afford plexi-glass hang heavy duty clear shower curtains. Cashiers are wearing masks and gloves. 

I personally will feel better when everyone is back at work and it looks like we are well on our way to financial recovery. To me that will be a sign that we are on our way to recovery.

[SKL]

I think people need to remember that the purpose of the shutdowns is to "flatten the curve," not to make sure nobody dies of this virus.

I think that if people could stick with reasonable behaviors, we could get back to business sooner rather than later.  The incubation period is a couple weeks or less, so people's behavior could make a huge difference in when that happens.

I don't want to accept talk about shutdowns all the way until fall (for relatively important things like schools and factories).  Of course whatever will be will be.  Planning has gone out the window, so I need a different way to mentally cope with uncertainty.

[May]

I don’t feel unsafe now. I do what I can and after that, I don’t think to much about it. 

[Night Elf]

I can tell you my store won't do anything to make things safer like putting up plexi glass or putting tape on the floors. The counter isn't that long. There would only be room for 2 people, one next to me and one at the end waiting. It's a tight store, meaning there aren't big aisles. It would be hard to maintain 6 feet between customers. 

I did try gloves but they were impossible for handling money. They didn't fit well. They were too big. We don't have any others. I have a homemade mask but I don't want to wear it for hours at a time. I don't like breathing into it. It makes me feel claustrophobic so that's going to be a problem. Also, the machine to take the credit/debit cards is next to my register. I put the cards in for people. When it's a debit card, I have to hold the machine so they can enter their PIN. It's a fat nuisance. 

I'm still in my Eating Disorder treatment program. We meet online. That takes a lot of my time so if we open the store before my center reopens, I'll only be working 3 hours a day on weekdays. So at least that lessens my time there. I'm just thinking I won't be ready to go back April 13th but I may have no choice. 

[PeterPan]

Well you won't be going back on April 13, so that part is easy. Every state seems to be peaking at a different time, and if yours is just starting to lock down, then you have a while yet. It could be several months. I suggest you find other projects for your time and be pleasantly surprised if it goes differently.

As far as your safety, odds are your state will slowly ramp up protective requirements. I wouldn't be surprised if our stores start screening everyone's temperature before they're allowed in the store even. Our walmarts already have lines and are limiting how many people come in.

By the time you go back to work, there will probably be enough herd immunity that you will be in much less danger. Also they're working on treatments. So you're asking the bigger question a lot of us are asking: when/how does this end? What does it look like? I don't know. But at the very least, I don't think it's likely your employment will be reopened before levels go down dramatically. It's non-essential, not providing groceries, etc., so it may be closed quite a while. 

And, fwiw, I feel safe either way, whether I get the virus or not. I'm not worried about dying (on a spiritual level), and only a slim percentage of people in our state are ending up in the hospital or ICU or worse. So it's not that I'm low risk (I have asthma and get pneumonia easily), but I'm ok with it either way and have made my peace with it. 

Edited April 4, 2020 by PeterPan

[hippiemamato3]

14 hours ago, Night Elf said:

So we just (finally) got our Shelter at Home directive and it goes through April 13th. So right now, that's the target date that businesses can reopen. DH doesn't for a minute believe that will happen just yet. But it leaves me wondering how I'm going to handle it when businesses finally are able to open again. I'm the main cashier at a non-profit thrift store. I deal directly with the people, their credit cards and money. There is a counter separating us but it's definitely not 6 feet. I'm beginning to dread going back to work. I don't want to lose my job but if my state decides it's time to  get back to normal, do I follow the government's lead or stay home and continue trying to protect myself? No work = No pay, so I don't want to stay out of work too long but there is no way of really knowing how long this will go on. I'm reading some people are saying we won't be safe until the fall. I don't see my state keeping businesses closed that long. 

What do you think?

That's a very short stay home directive - we've been under stay home orders for 3 weeks and it will last till (at least) May 4th. We expected it to be extended. I would not go back to work that quickly if you have the option to stay home.

[Pen]

7 hours ago, Night Elf said:

I can tell you my store won't do anything to make things safer like putting up plexi glass or putting tape on the floors. The counter isn't that long. There would only be room for 2 people, one next to me and one at the end waiting. It's a tight store, meaning there aren't big aisles. It would be hard to maintain 6 feet between customers. 

 

Maybe you’d be better off applying for other jobs that would be more careful.  Maybe a food prep type job would be safer in separating people properly. 

 

[73349]

I will feel safe when all three of us in my household have had either positive antibody test or the vaccine.

[marbel]

Stay-at-home and nonessential closure directives seem to be very fluid.

My county in PA started with schools and community centers (like the library) shut down till March 30. Then more things were shut down (all nonessential or as the governor put it "life-sustaining" businesses) and end dates have no  longer been stated.  I noticed recently that all my (physical) library books were "magically" renewed to May 11. 

So I would not put too much into any end dates right now.  There may also be laws put in place that force businesses with customer-facing employees to install barriers and find other ways to protect employees and customers.  

@Night Elf, in your place I would focus on therapy. You have said before that your income is not essential to your family.  (Though maybe that has changed and if so I am sorry.) I would not think ahead to April 13 right now. 

Edited April 5, 2020 by marbel