The coronavirus health scare has Gabby Wilson stepping up how she cleans, but also wondering whether she might clean at all.

“I’m having to take extra precautions,” said Wilson of Busy Bee Housekeeping in Gainesville.

In the past she might work around someone with a cold. Not so much anymore.

“If I’m sick, I can’t go (to a home),” Wilson said. “If they’re sick, I don’t go.”

Wilson said she tends to work for more elderly people, who are considered to be more susceptible to coronavirus, so she is taking heightened precautions, such as wearing gloves when she cleans and thoroughly disinfecting surfaces.

“Right now, we have to be real careful, changing out our cleaning rags and everything,” she said.

Kennya Lara talked about how her East Hall company, Mundus Office Cleaning, has picked up more work at one area business it serves.

“More disinfecting, especially the breakroom and the restrooms,” she said.

But Lara is concerned that the economy might start failing, forcing businesses to cut nonessential services, such as contracting with a cleaning company.

“Hopefully, it won’t get that bad,” she said.

Another concern is having enough supplies on hand.

She said she is glad, at her mother’s suggestion, that she stocked up on supplies before the rush on supplies began.

“If you go online … a lot of the disinfectant stuff is probably out of stock,” Lara said.

Brad Cowan, inside/outside sales representative at Gainesville Janitor Supply, said his company sells supplies to cleaning companies and directly to businesses, and demand has risen, particularly for sanitizers.

“We have sold out, and it’s hard to even get our back orders fulfilled right now,” Cowan said. “It’s been crazy.”