Listening to callers’ experiences after four months of coronavirus
Jul 29, 2020, 3:27 PM | Updated: Oct 7, 2024, 8:49 am
Artwork painted on plywood covering a downtown Seattle business closed during the lockdown this past spring. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Washington’s Safe Start plan is on pause indefinitely. After four months, how has the coronavirus impacted your life? The Gee and Ursula Show on KIRO Radio took calls from listeners to see what they’ve been going through the last four months, with work, kids, finances, family, and everything else.
Carrie from Bothell talked about how she understands the fear of the coronavirus pandemic, and has protected herself as much as anybody, but it’s been incredibly hard on her business.
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“I understand that the pandemic is frightening to people. I mean, I have an older father that I’ve stayed away from during this whole time, and that’s hard for me, but I do that out of just safety. So I quarantine myself as much as I can,” she said.
“I think the most difficult thing for me is that being a small business owner — I’m a bar restaurant owner in Kirkland — we were shut down for three months. We’ve been open now for a little over a month and now we have to basically shut down again. … Honestly, I don’t know who’s going to survive. There’s a few bars in our area that have had to shut down already, so I don’t see anybody surviving.”
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Derek in Fremont talked about his mental health concerns with his partner and their kids, especially how difficult it’s been for schools and people to socialize.
“The fact that I have a partner who’s been laid off. I’m still working, so there’s a little bit of guilt involved there, but at the same time, my partner has two young daughters who were just set to start high school and middle school,” he said. “… The big concern is in their age group, they’re already glued to devices and screens, and now it’s kind of where their only ability to socialize with friends is via a phone screen or a tablet screen.”
“I’m just afraid of the toll that it’s going to take on the kids, and the toll it’s going to take on the relationship.”
Listen to the rest of the calls here.
Listen to the Gee and Ursula Show weekday mornings from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
