[suzzer99]

I basically expect to get coronavirus if it becomes as widespread as feared, because of how closely I work, as a bartender, with the public and their germs.

Additionally, I can't wash my hands as often as suggested without serious consequences. Like many bartenders, I suffer from paronychia (bar rot), a skin condition of the cuticles and other areas of the fingers caused by working long hours with wet hands exposed to citrus, cleaning agents, and bacteria.

When it's acting up, every hand-wash inflames it, so if I don't limit my hand-washing to only when necessary, the skin on my hands thins, peels, and bleeds, leaving me susceptible to much worse than coronavirus.

Nor can I choose to work less. Think twice before telling people not to work if they are sick; many of us don't have that luxury. I can afford to lose maybe two days of work a month - otherwise, I am going to fall behind, and although I have some exciting prospects this year, at the moment I have no additional income or means of support.

Remember: the working-class works when we are sick not because we want to, but because we have to.

All that I am changing in my routine is what I am able to: I am no longer frequenting my favorite breakfast spot, because most of the clientele is elderly and I don't want to endanger them if I become a carrier.

That's how coronavirus is affecting my life.

From a bartender on Facebook. Might want to avoid bars for a while.