There has been a lot said about essential workers. Many times, we call essential workers “heroes” and, when we do, we generally talk about doctors and nurses. However, there are many people out there — not to say that doctors and nurses are not heroes — who deserve our praise. They include doctors and nurses as well as each and every person who works in a hospital or clinic whether it be in direct patient care or as any support staff. Just the fact that they are in the environment, they are putting themselves at risk.
There are the other emergency responders such as EMTs, police, fire, and the like who deal with people day in and day out and risk their own health. Then there are the essential workers in food service who keep us fed with take outs or delivery. They risk exposure regularly.
There are many people who are essential. There are, sadly, others who think that they are essential but don’t quite cut it. If you want to determine whether someone is essential or not, just ask yourself the question, “If someone were not there to do this person’s work, would I be negatively impacted? Would there be a possibility that I could be harmed if not one performed this person’s job?”
I found the following on social media today and thought it worth sharing.
To all of you who truly are essential, thank you for what you do for us. Please take care of yourself. Stay safe and stay healthy. We couldn’t do without you.
As I mentioned to you before, my son Kevin has had 3 virus effected people who died and we don’t know if the virus dies, too. He stays 6′ away from me because he doesn’t want me to “get sick”. I think funeral directors need to be considered ‘first responders’ because they are in very close contact not only with the dead, but also with their families. And all they are doing is trying to help the families who are dealing with death. I can’t help but worry about Kevin.
I agree with you 100%, Pat. They are definitely putting themselves at risk not only from their “customer” but from the deceased’s family as well. They may have it and not yet know. It’s very scary.