Essential workers press on during COVID-19 pandemic
Police officers, paramedics and firefighters are top of mind when thinking of essential services. However, many other service workers are deemed crucial to British Columbians and many of them are adapting their work in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sanitation workers, truck drivers and letter carriers are some of the industries deemed essential to our lives
Liza, a sanitation worker, cleans a SkyTrain station in Vancouver on Thursday, April 2, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
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The streets of Vancouver are increasingly empty as the city enters its third week of a vast shutdown of many businesses, but essential service workers are finding new ways to adapt in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Janitors, sanitation workers, truck drivers and even accountants are deemed essential to British Columbians, according to the province. They're "essential to preserving life, health, public safety and basic societal functioning," according to a statement from B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth.
Whether it is a pharmacist working long hours to provide medication to their patients or a letter carrier walking her route in a near empty downtown core, these workers are crucial to the basic needs of a city.
A DoorDash food delivery worker rides his bicycle through downtown in Vancouver on Thursday, April 2, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Pharmacist Colin Holyk fills an order at Kerrisdale Pharmacy in Vancouver on Friday, April 3, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Sidney Schultz, an accountant at Schultz & Associates is pictured outside of his office building in Vancouver on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Custodian Grafa Pinera cleans a doorway in an office building in Vancouver on Thursday, April 2, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Lea Duck, a letter carrier with Canada Post, wears a mask as she delivers mail in downtown Vancouver on Wednesday. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Tanner Cargo disposes of needles on the grounds of St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver on Thursday, April 2, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Getenet Gebrek, concierge of Marinaside Resort residences, wipes a counter at the front entrance of the condominium complex in Vancouver on Thursday, April 2, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Bus operator Mark Bester performs an inspection of his bus at the Vancouver Transit Centre in Vancouver on Thursday, April 2, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
A food delivery service member walks through downtown Vancouver on March 23, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Truck drivers walk past a row of containers with food and supplies at a Superstore supermarket in Vancouver on Thursday, April 2, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Jenn Wallis, Sarah Taylor and Paola Hernandez work in a drive-through tent at the Burnaby COVID-19 primary care site. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)
A SkyTrain customer service worker walks through fallen cherry blossoms at the Burrard SkyTrain station in Vancouver on Thursday, April 2, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
UPS delivery driver Simon Wang drives his truck between deliveries in Vancouver last April. Ottawa recently granted the shipping giant's U.S. president a special, ministerial exemption from Canada's mandatory 14-day COVID-19 quarantine. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Angelita Guia works a cashier's till at Kin's Farm Market in Vancouver on Friday, April 3, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Liza, a sanitation worker, cleans an empty skytrain station in Vancouver, British Columbia on Thursday, April 2, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Clay Danyluk, with GFL Environmental Waste management company is pictured on his route in Vancouver, British Columbia on Friday, April 3, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Sanitation workers walk out of the Woodward's building in downtown Vancouver on Thursday, April 2, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Canada Post letter carrier Peter Kempa crosses an empty street in downtown while delivering mail on his route in Vancouver on Thursday, April 2, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
A man pushes a bin on the sidewalk in downtown Vancouver on Monday, March 23, 2020. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
