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What It's Like to Be an Essential Worker During the Pandemic

In videos, a mail carrier, nursing home assistant and others describe their jobs now

spinner image Bus driver Marcia Johnson, postal worker Tina Weber and C N A Rosa Gonzalez
AARP

When the coronavirus began to spread across the country in March, cities and states nationwide ordered temporary shutdowns of most businesses. Many workers faced layoffs or lost their jobs altogether, while others were forced to switch suddenly to working from home full-time.

But the jobs that some people do are so vital to keeping our communities stable and safe that these workers continued with their duties even during the biggest public health crisis in a century. The bus operator. The mail carrier. The nursing home assistant. The railroad-tracks maintenance director.

Here's how they feel about being essential workers, in their own words.

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