Need a Lyft? Owensboro Driver Discusses the Impacts of Coronavirus

Barbie Korfhage moonlights as a Lyft driver here in Owensboro.  While some local residents are doing their best to stay inside and practice "social distancing" to help curtail risk of infection and spread of the novel coronavirus, others are going about their daily lives as usual.  In order to make sure those folks are getting home safely, Barbie came up with an inventive way to stay in business and protect herself and her passengers in the process.

And, for the record, no she isn't really wearing a comforter bag when she drives.  But, because there are other drivers in the area who hesitate to be on the roads, Barbie was committed to taking precautions to make sure she is.  She always keeps Lysol, antibacterial wipes and hand sanitizer in her car.  However, with the threat of COVID-19, she was spraying and wiping down the car more than normal.

As for her passengers, Barbie says that people were and still are getting cabin fever.  And, in her estimation, "most college-aged people aren't even the slightest bit concerned.  They're going out as usual and doing their thing."   It's not only college students that were keeping Barbie busy.  She says adults with children are seriously needing to get out of the house too.

However, with ever-changing guidelines from the CDC that stress social distancing and limiting crowd contact, Barbie believes that ridesharing companies will be hard hit.  She's reluctantly putting it in park.  At least for now.  Barbie says, "Our Lyft business will plummet and I hate that for those who truly depend on it as their primary source of income."

In the wake of coronavirus and Monday's announcement that restaurants and bars in Kentucky are being closed to dine-in business, Barbie is making some adjustments to her normal Lyft duties.  While she's no longer officially offering services through Lyft, she's perfectly willing to do lunch and dinner delivery for her friends.  Plus, she'll make restaurant, grocery and pharmacy deliveries.  She adds, "I'm happy help."   But, for now, she has officially signed off the Lyft app until "the threat is over here."

During her downtime, Barbie plans to spend some extra time with her husband Tom, whom she lovingly refers to as "Linda."