It’s been a year since office towers were hollowed out, malls became ghost towns and the din of restaurants was hushed.
Yet as many Canadians were laid off or switched to working from home, others were declared essential and continued to go into work every day regardless of surging COVID-19 cases.
In an effort to understand the life of essential workers over the past year, The Canadian Press interviewed four people who have largely continued work as usual through the pandemic: A bus driver, a teacher, a construction worker and a grocery store cashier.
When Shane Curveon drives the No. 23 bus in Kelowna, B.C., he greets many passengers by name.
For a year now, as the novel coronavirus spread across Canada and health officials issued stay-at-home orders, Curveon has continued to drive various routes in the picturesque Okanagan Valley city.
Like many workers declared essential, he approaches his job with a sense of duty and public service.
But after a year of working in a pandemic, Curveon has also had days of fearfulness, confusion and exhaustion.
“There were days when it was absolutely terrifying going into work,” he said, noting that for much of the first wave masks weren’t mandatory and there was no physical barrier protecting drivers.
“Masks are mandatory now but there’s no enforcement and we don’t have the authority to enforce the rule.”
buy cialis online safely
buy cialis online safely
Comments are closed.