The Human Faces of the Coronavirus Shutdown

John Tempesta, left, drummer for The Cult, and Sean Topham, a drum technician and truck driver, who lost his job due to the coronavirus shutdown. Photo Credit: Sean Topham

By Michael Hooper

Thousands of people are dying every day with coronavirus, but there are other silent victims of this disease. Millions of people have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus shutdowns across the United States and around the world. Many of the unemployed worked in the entertainment industry, travel and tourism, and the bar and restaurant business. Even the health care industry is hurting because of lost revenue as a result of postponing elective surgeries. Hospitals in Topeka are letting employees go. This article will take a look at three people who have lost jobs due to the coronavirus shutdowns.

Sean Topham, 51, of North Hollywood, Calif., and Courtney Collado, 40, of Kansas City, Mo., and Susie Hoppe of Grafton, Wis., all have lost income due to the coronavirus shutdowns.

The Drummer

Topham was working as a truck driver for Mates Rehearsal Studios, where he delivered music equipment to musicians. He also worked as a drum technician for numerous bands over the years including The Cult and Poison. He was supposed to be on tour with Tower of Power this spring but got a call on Friday, March 13, saying the Tower of Power tour was put on hold. He returned to Mates, but was laid off.

"Nobody knows when we are going back to work," Topham said in a phone interview. "All my friends in the industry are stuck at home with no work."

He and his girlfriend have been in home quarantine for over a month.

"I'm sitting here with my girlfriend," he said. "I've got a studio at home. I play drums every day but we're getting stir crazy for sure."

Topham said he had enough money for April rent but called all the places he owed money and asked that his debts be put on hold. So his cell phone bill, insurance and other bills are on hold for two months, knowing he will have to play catch-up when he starts earning money again.

Topham applied for unemployment, food stamps and assistance from Music Cares, an organization set up by the Grammys to help out financially struggling musicians. He has not yet received any unemployment, nor any assistance from food stamps or Music Cares.

"The whole system is slammed," Topham said. "I'm lucky I got the April rent paid."

When he applied for food stamps, someone called him, asked him some questions, and then said he should hear back within 30 days.

"I've got nothing right now and they say I've got to wait 30 days," Topham said.

He said he heard that the federal government will provide an extra $600 per week on top of his unemployment. If that is true, he said he should be okay.

Assistance from the government really depends on when it arrives. If it arrives in October, it will be too late. People need it now.

After quarantines went into effect, Topham said it was scary because panicky people had depleted the grocery stores of food. Now he said the grocery stores in Los Angeles have set limits so there is enough food on the shelves. His girlfriend just had her birthday and he bought her a birthday cake. He notices he spends less money on beer these days because he no longer goes out to drink since bars and restaurants are closed except for takeout. "A glass of beer here is normally $10, but now I drink and eat at home."

Topham has worked most of his life in the entertainment industry. He grew up in San Francisco but moved to LA when he was 23 years old. Back then he said Sunset Boulevard was a constant Mardi Gras every night.

He has worked as a drummer in a band called The Chimpz for 14 years. The band's music is featured in the chase scenes on Sons of Anarchy. His band has been a regular at the Rocklahoma festival in Oklahoma but he is worried the festival may be canceled this year.

He wonders when the coronavirus shutdowns will end. When will people be comfortable enough to buy concert tickets again?

"I can't wait to get back to work," he said.

The Dancer and Personal Trainer

Courtney Collado, daughter of Clark and Bobbi Trammell in Topeka, is a self-employed certified personal trainer, dance teacher, choreographer and master pilates instructor. She provides corrective movement solutions to dancers who are suffering from injuries. Nearly all of her work and income ended about a month ago due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Courtney Collado, her son Kellan and two dogs. Photo provided by Courtney Collado

Working out of a private studio in Kansas City, she helped clients reduce pain and improve physical strength.

"I need to touch people and breathe in a very close space with them," she said. But because of the coronavirus social distancing rules, it's impossible to get close to people. "My income is 100% gone," she said.

"Because most of my income is self-employed, I don't yet qualify for unemployment or relief assistance," she said. "I taught one class per week as an employee for the Kansas City Ballet which qualifies me to receive  $74/week in assistance."

Now she is confined to her apartment with her 7-year-old son from her first marriage and two dogs. She helps her son with online instruction in the mornings. She also is working on her master's in fine arts so that she can earn more money teaching dance at the college level. 

"I've never been a good sleeper but I'm lucky to get three to five hours of sleep per night," she said. "I was supposed to do my master's thesis this summer but I will have to wait until next summer for that. There's too much to do here. There's more dishes, more laundry, taking care of my son. I'm fortunate he's very focused and self-motivated but it's very challenging. Much of my life is on hold."

She is trying to build up clients who would be willing to receive instruction online. She said she is fortunate to have one client who is still paying her for instruction. However she has many clients who can no longer afford to pay her because they are out of work, but she still provides help anyway because she loves what she does. She knows what it's like to be injured as a dancer. She has been dancing all of her life and received her first dance injury when she was a little child. Now she is 40 and she sees doctors from time to time because of the multitude of injuries that she received as a ballet dancer in New York City, where she lived for 15 years.

She said the new normal will be completely different than the old normal.

"We're not going back to normal," she said. "This will change the way we work and interact with people."

She said she doesn't really see an end to the coronavirus quarantine anytime soon. Maybe this fall or maybe in a year, but certainly not in 30 days.

The world is now realizing that society has become overly dependent on people who work too much for too little. Consumers now must do without the people they took for granted like the restaurant and bar employees who served them on a regular basis.

Collado remarried and her husband is in the military. He probably got coronavirus when he was in Morocco. All of his comrades in his unit got sick too and were quarantined until they got better. He is currently a major in the Army stationed in Fort Benning, Georgia.

She has learned, "It's okay to be sad and be scared. It's okay to grieve. But make sure you maintain your connection with your community."

"The only way to show love is to withhold all (physical) affection," she said. That means no hugs, no kisses, no intimate conversations. "We cannot safely visit my parents in Topeka."

The Bartender

Susie Hoppe, of Grafton, Wis., was working as a bartender at the Jackson Pub in Jackson, Wis., when the bar was closed right before the biggest sales night of the year on St. Patrick's Day. The state had required all bars and restaurants to close except for takeout. She lost two other jobs working as a bartender. She also runs her own cleaning business, cleaning commercial and private residences. She had been working close to 80 hours per week and all that came to a halt because of the coronavirus shutdowns. Her cleaning business has one part-time employee. "I kept him on because I did not feel comfortable letting him go," she said

Susie Hoppe, Photo provided by Susie Hoppe

Hoppe had been working very hard and long hours in order to save some money to improve her family cabin in Minnesota. But now that the coronavirus has shut down her income, she is not going to spend any money on repairs for the cabin.

Hoppe has applied for unemployment, but that task was extremely difficult. "You're going to spend a long time online," she said. "It's a long process."

She said many people in the food and beverage business do not have savings. "A lot live paycheck to paycheck," she said.

Hoppe's husband Greg continues to run his accounting business but because the deadline for paying taxes was pushed back to July 15, business has slowed down.

The coronavirus shutdown has really affected her psychologically too. 

"It feels like we're in the Twilight Zone," she said. "I've watched more TV in one week than I did all of last year."

So many events have been canceled including events to raise money for charities, she said. This will have a trickle-down effect on people in need.

"It's heart-wrenching to see all of the parks closed here," she said. "Kids can't go out and play. Kids can't be kids right now."