The doors of the First National Bank of Long Island are locked, and the two lone employees motion from inside for you to get back in your car and go to the drive-through window. What appear to be shower curtains hang in front of the service counter in the deserted post office on Northern Boulevard. A table acts as a makeshift barrier between you and the CVS cashier.
Welcome to Nassau County in the age of coronavirus.
In keeping with the state mandate to shut down most shops and workplaces, only essential businesses such as grocery stores and pharmacies remain fully open. Even among businesses that are still running, many have drastically cut back their hours.
Grace’s Marketplace on Glen Cove Road in Greenvale is offering to-go grocery orders for pickup or delivery to minimize the risk of spreading the virus.
Although many customers are now ordering their food from home, a Grace’s Marketplace employee commented that “it’s been busy.”
“Most people keep away from you, they don’t want to be too close to you,” he said. “But other people, they don’t care. They aren’t even wearing gloves.”
The store has begun trying to limit the number of customers shopping at one time to 10, he said.
“We wear gloves, every single employee has to wear them,” the employee added. “And we wear masks. And also we have hand sanitizer at each station.”
At the Stop & Shop in Wheatley Plaza down the street, grocery store workers have covered every credit card reader with a clear plastic bag. Like many businesses, Stop & Shop has reserved special shopping hours for customers over the age of 60, in an attempt to protect those who are most vulnerable to coronavirus.
“Although we will not be requesting ID for entry, we ask that you please respect the purpose of the early opening—and do the right thing for your neighbors,” Stop & Shop President Gordon Reid said in a statement. “Store associates do reserve the right to ask customers to leave if they are not members of this age group.”
The People’s United Bank further down the row of shops has been closed since 2 p.m. Every other store has shut down. The few cars occupying the plaza parking lot are painstakingly spread out.
Despite sheets of plastic dividing workers from customers in the post office across the street, many USPS employees have reported that the postal service is not enacting adequate protective measures. Behind the masked employee stationed at the service desk, three workers stand within close proximity of one another sorting mail.
A couple of miles away the perpetually crowded market and deli Kitchen Kabaret, a local favorite, is closed until further notice.
The CVS next door has strips of neon orange tape at six-foot intervals on the ground in front of the registers to instruct customers where to stand. In addition to the counter, a table stands between customers and workers, and a stack of paper bags in front of the register implies that customers are expected to bag their own items.
When asked if he feels safe coming to work, the Grace’s Marketplace employee hesitates for a moment. “I’m going to say yes,” he finally replies, “because we are prepared for it. As a teenager I feel safe, but older people I guess do not [feel] like that.”
