Mike a masked Costco employee works behind a protective plastic barrier as he greets customers at the warehouse in Fairfax, Virginia. Mike and other employees are essential workers during the COVID-19 restrictions.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The disease was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province, and has since spread globally, resulting in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.