Being a front-line worker during COVID-19

Good to see you again, my beloved community.

I have been eager to write a post on the Hive blockchain for a few days now. However, I haven't had any amazing ideas as to what to write about. I have had writer's block for multiple months now and I just don't feel like becoming repetitive in my posts. That's not interesting. Never is. Never will be.

I am writing this post while I'm at work. I have talked about my work a few times in my posts, but now that COVID-19 is getting out of hand, I genuinely feel like my story would be interesting. You see, I work as a barista and while (almost) all of the coffee shops in town are closed down, ours is still open. And it probably will be open for the remainder of the virus outbreak. I thought I'd write about my feelings, concerns and specific things I've noticed while working a front-line job during the virus.

Everyone wants to have a chat, and I mean e v e r y o n e

The government in Estonia has not exactly prohibited walking around town. In other words, we won't get shot if we have to go to the supermarket or just want some fresh air. However, they have strictly recommended us to stay home as much as possible and not have any human contact. And although introverts are having the time of their life right now, social distancing makes everyone go crazy eventually.

When they come to the coffee shop, they will talk about anything. If you're familiar with the Estonian culture, then you understand that we will not talk with strangers. Estonians are born introverts. But when you don't have anyone to talk to at home or only have your family to listen to, you need to get outside and talk to other people. They come here and talk to me about the weather, about the virus and how it's affecting the café, about anything that there is to talk about.

A lot of people simply do not care

And that, personally, makes me really-really angry. I have a co-worker, who recently travelled to UK, just before the government in Estonia shut down schools and such. He is a great guy, but sometimes, he can be a fucking douche. Let me explain.

Just before returning to Estonia, he wrote to us in our work chat that he is travelling. We told him to quarantine himself for a few weeks, just to be safe. We also took away his shifts and covered them with my coworkers. But. This dude just walked around town, saw his friends, came to the cafe to talk to the coworkers etc. What's more, when he was supposed to come to work, he just didn't show. Why? Because he's quarantined. Sure.

Listen, if you don't give a fuck about your health, at least care about other people's health. Please.

Honestly, I'm quite scared

I mean, as you should be, right? My mom is in the risk group, she has heart-issues. She goes to work as well, because she's a bank clerk, but she has moved a few floors upstairs to answer calls and such, which is a better choice for her. But since I am the one constantly talking to people (and her as well), I'm really-really scared to catch the virus from somewhere.

Don't get me wrong, we have disinfectants on every corner of the cafe and I wash my hands frequently, but that still sometimes doesn't stop the virus from spreading. I can't leave work either because I need the money. And while I have other shit to do (like a crapton of school stuff), I still like coming to work and earning money.