Armed with hand sanitizer and a mix of resignation and bravado, New Yorkers who don’t have the option of working from home are soldiering on as the number of known coronavirus cases multiplies.
Some described taking new precautions, while others said they’re already seeing a slowdown in business.
But coffee vendors, manicurists, movie theater clerks and others we spoke to this week were united by the necessity to keep working, even as uncertainty spread along with virus.
Edward Valler surveyed the empty seats in his Midtown barbershop at lunchtime and shrugged. “Today is slow because of the Jewish holiday,” he said, referring to Purim. “I don’t think it has anything to do with coronavirus.”