April Nicole
Editor’s note: This is part of Coping with COVID-19, a series of brief looks at people in a pandemic.
By Nyjah Bunn
April Nicole’s job as the manager of a Family Dollar in Detroit is considered essential.
But if it wasn’t for needing money to take care of herself and her son, she wouldn’t risk going out, let alone working, said Nicole, 33.
People come in, and out all day. Some are even there before the store opens, Nicole said. Half ask for cleaning supplies and the other half buy canned goods as if the world is ending.
Her new daily cleaning responsibilities include disinfecting shopping carts, card readers and register counters. She is supposed to get sneeze guards to shield herself from customers, but they won’t arrive for another two to three weeks.
“They’re going to wait until we die to get them,” Nicole said.
“I wear my mask and gloves to protect me, and I work to pay my bills,” she said.
People don’t understand how difficult it is to have a child at a time like this, she said. She tries to make sure that she doesn’t bring the virus back to her son after being around so many people at work.
She is especially appreciative of her mother and grandmother for watching him, comforted knowing he is safe. And she does her best to protect him from herself.
When she comes home from work, “I take my clothes off in the car, and keep a bottle of sanitizer,” Nicole said. “But you never know.
“They said you can have it without symptoms.”