It rang, and he answered. He heard a name with which he was very familiar.
John Hafer, a husband and father residing on Wheeling Island, immediately began recalling his interactions with the individual with whom he worked at the Sheetz in St. Clairsville. The co-worker informed the company of a positive test result for COVID-19 this past Monday, and a staff member from the company’s Employee Relations Department phoned Hafer.
“What if I have it? That was my first thought, and then I thought about my son, Caleb, and his health,” he explained. “I thought it was possible. I had spent a good amount of time talking and working with that employee that night in the Made-To-Order area of the store.
“I then called my wife, Megan, as soon as I got off the phone with Altoona while she was at work,” he said. “She works in Pulmonary Rehab at Wheeling Hospital (in Wellness Center). Of course, she also was worried, and she wanted me to go get tested ASAP because she had worked at Wheeling Hospital while the Wellness Center was still closed, and she had seen how bad it could get.”
The Unknown
Those who have been tested for the coronavirus in the Northern Panhandle have described the process as unpleasant and uncomfortable, and Hafer, a 2000 graduate of Martins Ferry High School, anticipated such an experience on his way to Marshall County.
Hafer has worked in the health care industry in the past as a Belmont College AAS Emergency Medicine-Paramedic. He’s also been employed as an EMT since 2006 and remains a CPR instructor in the Wheeling area.
“My doctor’s office is at WVU Medicine Reynolds, so she sent the order over to the test site there,” Hafter explained. “They stick what basically is a Q-Tip in your nose, and they collect from the back of your throat for 10 seconds, too.”
When testing began in the Upper Ohio Valley, some were forced to wait longer than two weeks for the results, and Hafer did wait but only for a little more than a day.
“The entire time I was pretty anxious because I didn’t want to possibly infect Caleb or Megan,” he continued. “Plus, the unknown about how bad it would affect me. I think everyone whose been tested feels the same way because of what we have heard about this virus.”
Quarantined
When informed of the exposure, Hafer was instructed not to report for his scheduled shifts at the St. Clairsville Sheetz for at least one week. Despite the negative results, he will not return until next Monday.
“I have to stay at home until May 25. The company’s policy mandates us to stay out until 14 days have passed since exposure, and the last time that employee had worked was on May 11,” he explained. “They have really taken care of employees. My boss is on paid medical because he is at higher risk with underlying medical problems, and we have a lady who is in her 80s who works one or two shifts a week that is being paid while she can’t work.”
Two Sheetz employees working at the company’s location at The Highland tested positive for COVID-19 last month, one of whom also was employed at Chick-fil-a in Ohio County. Hafer began working at the St. Clairsville location nearly five years ago and plans to continue in his position despite this experience.
“My plan is to stay at the St. Clairsville store,” he said. “Other than my two weeks of training at the Triadelphia (Cabela’s) store, I’ve been in St. Clairsville as a crew member there followed by almost three years as a supervisor.
“I know the store, and I know my job,” Hafer added. “I am aware of the expectations the store manager has of me, and I know my crew’s strength and weaknesses, so that’s why I’m staying where I am. I love the job.”
