With the pandemic going on all around us, many are locked down inside our homes, staying safe. There are, however, unsung heroes who are putting themselves at risk to keep the country moving. In this feature article, I interview Elena Page, who is a cleaner at the South Gloucestershire Council. Of course, because of the pandemic, we spoke over the telephone instead of in-person, but I still managed to have a great interview with her. She spoke to me about her role, and how it has changed because of the pandemic. She also explained her thoughts on those who refuse to wear masks, break the rules, and overall put everybody else at risk.
It took about ten minutes to set up the phone call, as we both kept losing signal. But once we finally got it working though, I jumped straight in by asking her how her job role has changed due to the pandemic. She explained that it’s “pretty much a bunch more cleaning… we’ve got to arrive an extra half an hour early, which we’re paid for, luckily.” I then went on to ask whether is given any PPE. “We do. We’re supplied with masks, as well as a new cleaning product that’s specifically for disinfecting surfaces from coronavirus.” She went on to say that “it can get pretty tiring!” before laughing.
Clearly, the pandemic has made being a cleaner even harder work. But Elena seems to remain positive and upbeat, despite this. I wanted to get her thoughts on those who break the lockdown restrictions and refuse to wear masks. “I think they are extremely selfish. You’ve got people who are putting themselves at risk to help others, and then you get these people who just decide to break the rules and ruin all the hard work that we do. I understand people want to get back to normality, but I think it’s wrong.” She must have missed the part of my question about masks, so I asked again. “Well, I think that’s disgusting that they can’t wear a mask for the short time they’re in a shop or wherever they are. It’s not difficult to be considerate of others.” I agreed with her, explaining my own views on the matter – of which there were many.
I didn’t want to take up too much of her time, so I tried to get one last quick response from her about her views on what the future may hold. “I really hope it all gets resolved by the end of the year, but I really doubt it. This is probably something we’re gonna have to live with for at least another few years. It’d be fixed much faster if people wouldn’t break the rules, like we just mentioned.”
I thanked Elena for taking her time to talk to me, and wished her all the best in her role. I thought it was really interesting to hear some insight into one of the people who are keeping the country running. We should all be really grateful for people like that, who are selflessly putting themselves at risk to help others.
To see what the current restrictions are, click here.
