Debra Mullis Headshot
It will not be news to anyone that the number of coronavirus cases has completely changed for the worse over winter break. The omicron variant spreads much easier than the original COVID-19 strain or the delta variant and is also shown to still be transmissible amongst vaccinated individuals. It’s only a matter of time before cases begin to grow amongst NC State students and staff, especially in the dining setting. COVID-19 has inconvenienced everyone, but that’s not an excuse for rudeness towards anyone, even though we can expect disruptions this semester.
While the symptoms have shown to be milder than the previous strains, especially for those with the vaccine, receiving a positive test result can still cause major problems. As with the beginning of the pandemic in the winter of 2020, New York City is serving as a predictor for the rest of the country. Entire restaurants have had to close after exposure to one sick staff member. This could soon happen at dining halls, restaurants and coffee shops at NC State.
Throughout the fall 2021 semester, NC State was already experiencing staffing shortages in dining evidenced by the constant recruitment emails, posters and long wait times. Case Dining Hall remained closed for the general student body for breakfast through the first month of classes, and restaurants like Red Sky Pizza have remained closed.
As commented on by Technician correspondent Lauren Richards, Grubhub helped to alleviate some of the gaps from staffing shortages and protected staff from as much face-to-face contact with students. However, with so much close contact between staff there is most likely to be plenty of breakthrough cases.
Even though long waits, canceled orders or closures can be an annoyance, now is not the time to get aggravated with dining services. Employees of NC State’s dining services work in an environment with a high spread of COVID-19 and no opportunity for tips as they might have in other restaurant jobs where they would also risk exposure.
As of Jan. 10, over half of all positive cases reported by NC State employees since Aug. 1, 2021 have occurred in the last 30 days. This has occurred even with 82% of staff being vaccinated, more than the rate of undergraduate students.
We all know it is terrible when you have a 15-minute break between classes to pick up your Starbucks order and it’s late, but please have compassion for the food service workers that continue to show up for us. They’re providing the best service they can, awaiting their turn with the virus and quarantine.
None of these workers need the glares of college students to add even more to their already very full plates.