Home healthcare workers fighting COVID-19 without social distancing

ATLANTA - Social distancing isn’t possible if you’re a home health care worker.

The clients are the most vulnerable to the coronavirus, and their nurses are often their only link to the outside world.

"I’m that friendly person for the elderly person. I cook meals. We have a good time," 22-year-old Chasity Johnson said.

She has been a CNA for Quality Personal Care in Atlanta for the past two years.

In that time, she’s cared for at least 60 patients in their own homes.

Like delivery drivers and grocery store workers, Johnson is an “essential” worker during the coronavirus crisis.

"I have a mask, I have spray, I am doing everything I can do to not carry germs in with me," she told FOX5's Alex Whittler.

A nationwide shortage of protective equipment only puts Johnson’s clients at a higher risk.

Afterall, at some point, Johnson must go home.

"I see my son on the weekends since this virus came out. I can't take him to work with me around elderly people because kids carry germs themselves," she said. 

Johnson says she sees three patients a day and fears what will happen to them should isolation restrictions intensify as the U.S. now has more coronavirus cases than any other country.

"My clients need me every day," Johnson said. "They wouldn’t be able to shower, to eat, to have that coffee in the morning, exercise to stop swelling to stop those things that they have going on," she explained.