The whole world is living in the same situation for the first time; we are all quarantined, and some of us are lucky enough to be able to stay at home, but some others are not. In this edition, we asked people (keeping a safe distance) how Coronavirus has affected their economic situation and what changes they had to make to stay afloat.
Nepomuceno Rodriguez, 33, Uber driver.
I am still able to work, which is a great blessing for sure. I do notice there is less work now and have been very cautious with cleaning my car. I always keep it clean, but now I have to disinfect everything and work while wearing a mask and glasses. I also try to talk less to my customers, because I feel like all the germs that come from the mouth spread from the back of my car to me. I have less of an income because I am working the same hours as before, but I can definitely work more hours and have more money, but I feel like I don’t want to get desperate yet.
Viviana Abundiz, 22, student.
I used to work at a coffee shop and it closed, so I have no income anymore. My boss was nice enough to pay what she could, but I also understand there is no way to keep a payroll if the shop is closed. We are trying to figure something out in my family, maybe to deliver food or something similar, but right now we are not ready to invest too much in anything. My parents have their own business so I help them because they also lost all their workers.
Cecilia Contreras, 52, teacher.
Well, I was doing online classes and still getting paid, so it was okay and we were in spring break, so nothing out of the regular. But I do realize my economy has been affected because my husband is out of work and doing small jobs here and there. It has been hard on all of us, and we should all keep a positive attitude because it will be a long time before things come back to normal.
I also have noticed people being angrier and having a faster pace for everything, at the supermarket, while driving, etc. I hope we can all stay strong so we come out of this sooner rather than later.
Damian Luevanos, 43, boat crew.
This virus has turned our world upside down. I can’t take the boat out. We obviously don’t have customers. All of the crew is laid off temporarily, and all I can do is go to the boat every few days to check that everything is fine and in control. I do realize it’s a delicate situation and I wish we had been more careful sooner; maybe we would not be as bad as we are now. I have less income now – a little more than half – and have been forced to adapt to this situation because the cost of everything is still the same.
Kevin Martinez, 18, grocery dependent.
I have the same job as I did before and the same income, but I am not certain it will stay like this forever. I used to be embarrassed about my job, but I now thank god I have it because supermarkets are one of the few businesses that are still open. But it’s scary to watch how crazy people are now and how mean they can be if they don’t find something specific. I also pray for this to end so we can all enjoy what we took for granted before.
Macario Gonzalez, 67, retired.
I was blessed to be retired before all of this, so it’s not that bad but I am afraid my check will stop coming, and I will be left on the street. My kids lost their jobs so I am helping them with food and stuff and they take care of me. I am scared for them because they still have a life ahead of them and I hope this doesn’t affect their future.