Many of San Luis Obispo High School’s very own students have taken quarantine as an opportunity to go out and get a job.

With masks mandated and social distancing in place in public spaces, what are the precautions that businesses and workers must follow in order to ensure safety during COVID-19?

Expressions wanted to find out by interviewing SLOHS workers and find out their pandemic job experience. 

  “I’ve had coworkers who ignore the mask rule because they don’t believe [masks] work or are tired of ‘not being able to breathe’, but that really just pisses me off because that can both get our business in trouble and spread COVID-19,” said junior Linnaea Marks. 

 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines state that everyone should wear a mask in public settings and when around people who don’t live in your household, especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. Monitoring one’s health and watching for symptoms, as well as cleaning surfaces, washing hands, and mask wearing is essential to keep oneself and others safe. 

  “I work at Starbucks. The biggest health precaution we follow is we must check our temperatures and take a COVID-19 symptom questionnaire, then write our results into a log before starting work. Besides that, we have to wear a mask, wash out hands every 30 minutes, change our sanitizers often, and social distance when possible,” said senior Olivia Cisneros. 

  CDC recommends that people wear masks in public settings, on public and mass transportation, at events and gatherings, and anywhere they will be around other people. Wear masks with two or more layers, over their nose and mouth and secured under the chin, and to not wear masks intended for healthcare workers, for example, N95 respirators. 

  “Most of the time people wear masks, but improperly, under their nose or pulled down under their chin. We are not obligated to correct them, but it does compromise our safety to let them walk around without their mask on right,” said Marks. 

  Unfortunately, many workers have to deal with ignorant customers who refuse to wear masks. 

  “I work at Starbucks and had a bad experience with a woman who refused to wear a legitimate mask. She came in with a “mask” made out of lace that obviously wasn’t CDC approved, and kindly offered her one of the disposable masks we had behind the counter. She refused then asked to speak to my manager,” said Cisneros. 

  Especially when serving in restaurants, working in the food industry, there are many health guidelines to follow. Limited seating capacity in order to follow social distancing, proper mask wearing, intense and thorough cleaning. 

  “I work at Mason Bar and Kitchen in Arroyo Grande. The big health precautions we have to follow are wearing masks any time at work. Also hand sanitizing after I touch any dishes or anything and cleaning tables right after people leave,” said senior Bayley Perlmutter.    

  Having a job looks very different for SLOHS students during COVID-19 times, but we are grateful to get back to a sense of normalcy in life in a safe setting. 

Source: cdc.gov