"How do Indian restaurants stay open without their…

The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic caused many workers deemed “non-essential” to stay at home. This has nothing to do with “naan” (bread), but there are jokes.

“Can’t believe they shut down all the Indian Buffets, but then again they are naan essential” was posted on Facebook by irchak Michael on March 25, 2020. “How do Indian restaurants stay open without their naan essential staff?” was posted on Twitter by Toarea Fan on April 3, 2020. “Due to the Covid crisis, the Indian bakery in my neighborhood is going through some tough times. They fired all Naan essential staff” was posted on Reddit—Dadjokes also on April 3, 2020.

The “naan essential” pun had been used earlier. “@josephthomas: If India’s government ever shut down they would layoff all Naan-essential employees” was posted on Twitter by “James, obviously” on October 2, 2013. “Looks like the Indian bakery nearby is going through some tough times… ... I’ve just heard they’ve fired all Naan-essential staff” was posted on Twitter by Lya on November 24, 2019.

“I hear the monastery is laying off workers. All nun essential staff are gone” is another “non-essential” pun.

Wikipedia: 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak
The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The outbreak was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in December 2019, and was recognised as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020.

Wikipedia: Naan
Naan (Persian: نان‎, romanized:nān, Hindi: नान, romanized: nān) is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread found in the cuisines mainly of Western Asia, South Asia, Myanmar and the Caribbean.

Twitter
James, obviously
@jamesxdelacruz
Replying to @josephthomas
“@josephthomas: If India’s government ever shut down they would layoff all Naan-essential employees.” Good lord…
8:51 PM · Oct 2, 2013·Twitter for iPad

Twitter
Lya
@Mekanimus_Lya
Looks like the Indian bakery nearby is going through some tough times… ... I’ve just heard they’ve fired all Naan-essential staff. #bot #jokes #fun
4:39 PM · Nov 24, 2019·Mekanimus_Lya

Facebook
Birchak Michael
March 25, 2020 at 5:28 AM ·
Can’t believe they shut down all the Indian Buffets, but then again they are naan essential.

Twitter
Kae Why
@KaeWhy270
Can’t believe they shut down all the Indian Buffets, but then again they are naan-essential
8:30 AM · Mar 25, 2020·Twitter Web App

Twitter
Toarea Fan
@TOareaFan
How do Indian restaurants stay open without their naan essential staff?
2:08 PM · Apr 3, 2020 from Brampton, Ontario·Twitter for iPhone

Reddit—Dadjokes
Posted by u/porichoygupto
Due to the Covid crisis, the Indian bakery in my neighborhood is going through some tough times.
They fired all Naan essential staff.