By now everybody on the planet will be aware of the pandemic sweeping the planet that we lovingly refer to as Coronavirus (also known by the cheeky nickname Covid-19). It is a horrible virus that has hit a fair few people that I know personally and has infected almost 200 million people and sadly has claimed the lives of over 4 million people.

It is a virus we will have to live with. Like most viruses, it isn’t going to go away, so it is vitally important to make sure as many people as possible are given access to the vaccines that are on the market, and it is also just as important that we continue to work on these vaccines so that the inevitable mutated variants that come along can be protected against as well.

Along with the relentless reporting of this virus, there has also been many news reports about the lack of PPE available to NHS staff in our hospitals, and quite rightly. But what hasn’t been mentioned anywhere near as much as the lack of PPE for people who keep your streets and communities clean.

I have been working as an estate cleaner on and off for about 4 years and when the pandemic first hit we were told straight away that the management companies would provide the cleaning products, but we would have to provide our own PPE.

Imagine if the NHS staff were told that they had to buy their own PPE? The country would quite rightly be in an uproar, quite why people like me, who put ourselves at risk daily, are not treated the same is beyond me.

Thankfully thanks to companies such as Microscope International PPE isn’t that expensive and as someone on the minimum wage I have been able to afford to provide myself with masks, gloves and hand sanitiser. So I have been able to stock up because this isn’t going to go away any time soon.

Image by Orna Wachman from Pixabay