O'ahu has gone into our second lockdown amid over a 200% increase in cases. Currently, the cases average at about 300 per day, with our total number of cases quickly climbing to 8,000. All businesses, sit-down restaurants, and those deemed non-essential have been ordered to shut down until September 9.

I work in a boba shop selling milk tea, smoothies, and coffee. I am still pretty surprised that my store was deemed "essential." I guess it's because we sell beverages and pastries. I only recently started working there after being a loyal customer for the past four years.

Working with a mask on is anything but glamorous.

The amount of sweat that gathers on your face is quite uncomfortable. The AC in our store is always set at 60°F, but I always work up a sweat.

It has also been very difficult to communicate with customers inside the store.

There is a large plexiglass divider between the register and the customer. With the plexiglass and the mask, it is nearly impossible to hear the customers' order.

I have had to ask customers to repeat their orders five or six times and almost always end up shouting or going around the plexiglass.

There has been a large increase in online orders through GrubHub, Uber Eats, and BiteSquad.

Customers are still welcome to walk-in and order, but we have a 5-person limit inside.

I've also noticed the different methods customers can use to order now.

We have had a lot of phone orders and online orders compared to before the pandemic, where that was not a widely accepted method.

Overall, I am very lucky to still have a job, but as the pandemic worsens and hopefully improves, our lives will continue to change and we need to keep being vigilant and flexible.