Table 4 Summary of Themes in Focus Group 1 on COVID-19 Health Safety and Precautions

Challenges

Conflict with patrons

Participants described difficulty enforcing city-wide mandates, leading to conflict with patrons that often resulted in name-calling and anger directed at food service workers.

“When the vaccine mandate was enacted, we had to check the vaccination cards, and that was really hard. People fight us, telling us how it’s just theater and stupid.”

“It was difficult having to be like a covid police.”

“Asking people for their vaccine cards, I’ve been called a Nazi, and a lot of name calling.”

“People just needed a place to vent and a person to be angry at, and we [food service workers] were those people.”

Limited business

Participants described the limited indoor dining options and staffing challenges that took a toll on business.

“In the beginning, it was really hard for us when there had to be a six feet distance between tables. Some parts of our restaurant had barely six feet between two walls. If we could only see every other table, it severely impacts the number of heads that we can serve one night.”

“I remember during omicron, some restaurants had to close because all the employees were sick, out, and tested positive.”

Personal challenges

Participants described their confusion around COVID-19 tests, vaccines, and symptoms which resulted in challenges for decision-making. They often were worried about putting family members at risk. Challenging decisions about precautions often had direct financial implications.

“As a small business owner, if we caught covid, we would have to close for two weeks which means two weeks of no pay.”

“Before vaccinations, you had to choose between putting yourself at risk or not making money which was definitely challenging.”

“When Omicron first started, some people were testing negative one day and then testing positive the day after. It was really hard to figure out what to do.”

“When my older kids went back to school and got sick, we were not sure if they had a cold or covid. So the youngest one had to get tested several times.”

“I haven’t seen my own mother in three years now. I just feel like working in a restaurant will always be too much of a risk.”

Lack of workplace support

Participants expressed frustration about lack of abiding to health policies, not feeling heard by managers or employers, and being dismissed when talking openly with their managers or employers.

“I have a daughter that’s a hostess at a restaurant. When she was having symptoms, her boss asked her not to get tested for covid.”

“When I felt crappy, everybody at work just kept me there because they needed me to stay.”

“It was just a bunch of not regulated, not stringent boundaries. What happened is we found out about covid at work after the fact, and then the manager would say things like oh well it’s fine. When we said we wanted to go get tested, it was a problem for him as an employer.”

Successes

City safety & precautions

Participants feel supported and protected by the city-wide implementation of safety and precautions, such as masking, during the pandemic.

“100% supported the city’s mask mandate and vaccine mandates. It did make me feel safer at work, even after we understood that there would be breakthrough cases.”

Workplace safety & precautions

Participants feel supported and protected by their workplaces’ implementation of safety precautions, such as providing health insurance and requiring vaccination, during the pandemic.

“My current employer requires all employees to be vaccinated, which I appreciate. It makes me feel a little bit better about working there.”

“I was very lucky that they [my employer] provided tests for us if we felt symptomatic.”

“Restaurant I worked at got us health insurance. It’s really nice to work in an environment where they say to not come in if you feel sick. They’re also working on getting us paid sick days now. But I do think that’s bare minimum human decency.”

Availability of resources

Participants described that resources such as unemployment benefits or mutual aid, free school lunch, and community-based resources were helpful during the pandemic.

“In the service industry, we eventually did get some unemployment and financial help, which I thought was really good.”

“I know mutual aid became a much bigger thing and I became aware of mutual aid organizations after getting laid off during the pandemic.”

“I appreciate that my kids are able to go to school and get free lunch. Not having to worry about paying or packing lunch is something good that happened from covid.”

“Even though I haven’t utilized it, I know that people are trying to keep community fridges and pantries full during the pandemic, and I hope that people who need them are able to access them.”

Future Improvements

Maintaining Mandates

Participants would like to continue or reinstate city-wide and workplace mandates and wish to see improvements in mandating safety precautions.

“I would like to see mask mandates if there’s a future pandemic.”

“Bringing back the mask and vaccine mandates is always going to be on the table.”

Financial Support

Participants describe the value of financial support and wish to continue and expand support in the future.

“Financial help is always always welcomed. Just like the stimulus really helped me through it.”

“Housing should be part of the financial support too, especially in New Orleans. People are being kicked from their homes because they don’t have the money to pay rent. It’s incredibly difficult to secure your housing [during the pandemic].”

Dissemination of Information

Participants desire easier access to quality information and resources about the pandemic.

“I would definitely want to see more streamlined and more available local information. I felt like all the information was coming from a lot of places and there wasn’t just one place to go for it.”

Benefits

Essential workers express a need for benefits, such as health insurance, from their employers; a need exacerbated by the pandemic.

“I hope to figure out a way to get people health insurance.”

“For many reasons, there has to be a fundamental change for the restaurant workers. I was thinking about some kind of union and a livable wage.”