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What Businesses Are Considered Essential?


The spread of COVID-19 has affected just about every business in existence, but the exact impact varies by industry.

In efforts to prevent the virus from spreading, many establishments have been shut down or transitioned into online platforms. However, some businesses remain open despite the pandemic because they are essential for society to function.

Essential businesses must operate undisrupted to ensure that everyone has access to what they need for daily survival. This includes covering basic needs like food, shelter, and healthcare.

Several other businesses are deemed essential and you likely want to know what those are. This will help you understand whether a service you need will be available or if your business is essential.

Below, we’ve outlined four significant categories of essential businesses during the current pandemic.

Grocery and Department Stores

Some of the most important businesses categorized as essential are grocery and department stores.

These two businesses are fairly similar, although grocery shops focus on food while department stores are more generalized and tend to have more household items.

Grocery stores are fairly straightforward because food is a necessity for survival. People need a way to get food still, so grocery stores are essential for providing this.

Department stores may not seem as significant, but household items are also essentials. This includes goods like toilet paper and cleaning supplies.

While you don’t technically need toilet paper to live, it’s a staple of modern society. Something as simple as toilet paper keeps you civilized and going without it is likely a shocking thought.

Both grocery stores and department shops share a common theme and that’s consumable goods. This need will never disappear, so these businesses will remain a necessity during the pandemic.

Healthcare Facilities

Another critical business includes healthcare facilities.

Arguably, these are the most important businesses to keep around during a pandemic. Patients will continue to need medical treatment and there will also be an abundance of new patients dealing with the virus.

With this in mind, hospitals and health clinics must stay open to treat patients. As it currently stands, medical staff across the country are struggling to keep up with the demands of COVID-19.

For an objective that we’re already behind on, we can’t possibly afford to let medical professionals stay home. Without them, deaths would increase as infections spread and treatment would be unavailable.

As unfortunate as it may be for the hard-working doctors and nurses to continue doing their job, it’s a necessity to minimize COVID-19’s impact.

Recreational Substance Shops

One essential you might not expect is recreational substance shops. This applies primarily to marijuana dispensaries and liquor shops.

Although neither substance is an outright necessity, there are a few reasons why they’re deemed essential.

For liquor shops, they remain open to help those with alcoholism. The danger of quitting drinking cold turkey is far riskier than continuing to provide access to alcohol.

Marijuana dispensaries remain open because marijuana is known to offer several great health benefits. It’s also available in many states medicinally, which further illustrates why it’s a necessity.

While it may seem unnecessary, both alcohol and weed shops have legitimate reasons for staying open. As a side bonus, many people are turning to them for ways to help pass the time. In moderation, this can help you better enjoy your time in isolation.

Essential Supporters

Lastly, any businesses that support those considered essential are also necessary by extension.

This applies to a wide number of businesses because most essential operations are supported by logistics. Take any essential business, whether it’s a grocery store, hospital, or marijuana dispensary.

Do you think either of these facilities fully sources their materials and goods? Grocery stores aren’t growing or preparing any of the foods they sell, meaning that someone else is supporting them.

As you might imagine, this can get quite diverse because essential businesses will have several needs. For example, a hospital will need an ample stream of supplies, clean scrubs, and food to name a few things.

For just hospitals, this means that at least manufacturing facilities or warehouses for supplies must remain open, laundry services must be available, and agriculture must continue.

Apply this across every industry and you’ll see just how many businesses are essential to society. After all, what would you do without weekly garbage collection?

Closing Thoughts

COVID-19 has had a serious impact since its arrival. One thing it has made clear is which businesses are necessary for society to survive. These continue to operate despite the pandemic while many other businesses are forced to close.

A few categories of essential businesses include grocery and department stores, healthcare facilities, recreational substance shops, and supporting businesses.

Many services you may take for granted would create a serious difference in your life if they were no longer available. This is why so many businesses are deemed essential during these hectic times and why they deserve all of our appreciation!

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