Coping with Covid in Cleveland: JOE KOSKOVICS, VOODOO TUNA
After thousands of confirmed cases and hundreds of deaths in Ohio, people are (hopefully) staying at home to help protect each other from the spread of COVID-19. We checked in with various Clevelanders to see how they’re holding up and how the pandemic has affected them and their organizations.
Q: How has COVID-19 and Ohio’s general shutdown affected you and your line of work?
A: Our restaurant has been limited to carry out only operations. I have unfortunately had to lay off a significant portion of my staff. Although business got off to a slow start at the beginning, the community has rallied around us, as we have experienced a recent surge in business. This support has allowed us to stay open to provide our customers and community with some of their favorite food at the same time we can keep work for a lot of our employees.
Q: What are you personally doing to help cope with the quarantine?
A: We have coped here at the restaurant by focusing more on the opportunity that the COVID shutdown presents as opposed to all the setbacks. We are preparing to give our customers a better experience when the shutdown ends by using this time of carry out only to make improvements and repairs to the restaurant as well as launching an updated menu with some new food and drink additions.
Q: How, if at all, has COVID-19 affected your worldview?
A: My worldview has not changed much as I believe there is a lot of good and bad in the world today. While there has been a lot of greed, selfishness, and political leaders pushing agendas throughout the world during COVID-19 there has also been many people making sacrifices. We many selfless nurses and doctors going out on the front lines working, putting themselves in harm’s way to help save others and stop the spread of the virus. We have our own governor Mike Dewine who has set all agendas aside and appears to have Ohioans safety as his number one priority. I have personally seen my own community come together and support each other especially through local business. Although COVID-19 may not have been handled well worldwide, I am proud of our local state and local communities for coming together, keeping everyone safe and handling this the best we can.