The City Mindset Over COVID Fatigue

COVID-19 has profoundly impacted communities across the United States and as an essential provider, CITY is at the heart of making sure businesses have what they need. But as the pandemic moves on so is the restlessness that comes with it.

“There is a feeling of COVID fatigue,” Luis Portillo, CITY’s Director of Operations said. “We wish this was gone but that’s not the case. We need to keep doing what we are doing.”

Since March, CITY implemented strict health guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and help our employees and customers stay safe. Masks are mandatory whenever inside the plant. They are also encouraged while on break and break periods have been staggering to allow for social distancing. While it can be hard to enforce those strict regulations, Luis believes it’s essential to keep CITY’s operation moving.

“We need to stricter right now. It’s going to get worse before it gets better, we simply don’t know. The safer we can keep it here the better for everyone,” Luis said.

Ann King works in CITY’s stockroom. She misses being able to see her family and the many restrictions she faces in her community. Ann is being extra careful and reminds herself daily that the threat is not over. She wears a mask wherever she goes and carries hand sanitizer with her. While she takes the potential exposure to COVID-19 very seriously, she believes COVID fatigue is setting in with a lot of people.

“I feel like I can’t trust anybody,” Ann said. “Are you doing what I am doing? Are you washing your hands and wearing a mask? People are getting tired of it and they are not following the rules. They don’t care anymore and it’s dangerous for all of us.”

Ann thinks it’s very important to follow the same guidelines that were put in place when COVID-19 first became an issue. Others like production employee Josh Hansen also agree that people are forgetting how to take care of one another.

“People don’t wear masks and they don’t want to wear them,” Josh said. “If it’s mandatory it’s important you wear one. We are keeping everyone safe by still trying to follow the guidelines. Just because you are tired of it doesn’t mean you should stop being safe.”

Zandrea Moore who works in CITY’s production department as well says many people are just not willing to go along with safety regulations. While she says COVID-19 hasn’t impacted her personally, she wears gloves and a mask wherever she goes.

“We are not doing enough to prevent it,” Zandrea said. “We all need to do our part and if that means wearing our masks longer than that’s what we need to do.”

For Luis, it’s a challenge to keep everyone motivated. It’s paramount for him to motivate his co-workers to follow the guidelines even though it’s hard sometimes. His mission is to keep customers safe and also make sure employees feel comfortable in their work environment.

“It’s about safety,” Luis said. “We need to be safe, if we don’t do what we are supposed to do it can backfire and make everything worse. The more we follow the rules, the better in the long run.”