Key workers from doctors to teachers tell us what’s REALLY going on in the daily frontline fight against coronavirus

CORONAVIRUS disruption is playing havoc with all our lives — from the weekly shop descending into chaos to pubs indefinitely closing their doors and friends and family becoming infected.

But Britain's key workers are carrying on with their vital work as usual — even if it means they're at a higher risk of catching the killer bug.

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Each day this week, Sun Online will be speaking to these resilient grafters as they battle to keep the UK's essential services online.

From doctors and teachers to carers and plumbers, all kinds of key workers are facing unprecedented challenges in fighting back against the coronavirus.

Here are their stories from the front line.

The carer: 'We are putting ourselves at risk - as well as the vulnerable'

Shannon Summerfield, 20, is a support worker with not-for-profit Dimensions in Cardiff. The organisation offers help to those with learning disabilities, autism, challenging behaviour and complex needs.

She says: "There are four ladies I look after in a house.

At the moment they're self-isolating, just to lower the risk.

I usually take them out to classes in the community.

We also help them with personal care, preparing their meals, and supporting them with their families as well.

Last week, the company thought it was best to cancel some of the activities in the community.

When they said 'no visitors', I think that was quite daunting for them as well, because they do see their families on a regular basis.

One of the ladies I support has autism and she likes to be out and about — she'll walk for hours and hours, she's very active.

Being stuck in a house now is going to be quite difficult for her.

Mother's Day was quite hard for their families.

Going forward, it's quite worrying because some of the people in our team have had to take time off.

One of them is pregnant and when staff are going off with symptoms it's obviously quite hard on those that can work.

We are pulling together, but it is worrying, the fact that we are putting ourselves at risk as well as those ladies."

The childminder: 'I'm worried sick about money'

Kirsty Gage, 26, is a childminder from Kettering, Northamptonshire. She lives with partner Lewis and their son, Tommy, one.

She says: "I usually look after seven kids, between 14 months old and nine, but I am currently down to only having three children of key workers.

I charge £5-an-hour and monthly fees range from £220 to £600, so the shutdown has cost me over £,1000-a-month.

I'm worried sick about money because it's getting closer to bill day.

I am also really worried about my family's health.

My son is young and I'm in a high risk category because I am on steroids for an allergy disorder.

"Because of that I didn't want to take the key workers' kids - but that will be the only money I get.

I'm doing my best to keep everything sterile and I have guidelines that I have to adhere to, from my insurance company.

I have to wash their hands when they come in, sterilise the door handles, constantly check their temperature and so on.

If Tommy got ill I would blame myself but there's nothing I can do about it.

I was hoping this would only be going on for a month, and I really don't know what we will do if this carries on for 12 weeks."

The frontline doctor: 'I'm feeling slightly anxious, I won't lie'

Dr Murray Ellender, 46, is a London-based GP and co-founder of eConsult.

He says: "The reality is that there's a lot of GPs at the moment who are having to work significantly differently.

Some practices are better prepared for that than others. In ours, we've got a number of GPs now who are having to self-isolate because their family's unwell or they might be pregnant.

They have to setup to be working in a different way i.e. we have to set them up with a laptop so they can access the GP system and work from home. But that's really different.

Other GPs are having to go into the building and be the GP who sees patients.

Doctors saying they feel like 'lambs to the slaughter' or 'cannon fodder' are having to deal with a lot of patients, potentially, without the personal protective gear.

I know the Government are saying they've put a lot more out there, but I think there have been some delays in getting that kit to some practices.

Looking ahead, I'm feeling slightly anxious, I won't lie.

That's true for myself and other colleagues.

You can try and prepare yourself, but it's difficult to know how bad it's going to be."

The social worker: 'New mums are stuck without formula'

Katie*, 34, is a social worker, supporting vulnerable young adults between 18-25, many of whom have left the care or prison system, and often have severe mental health issues.

She says: "I have 25 young people who look to me for reassurance, and because we don't have all the answers right now, it's causing a lot of worry.

All I can do is be there on the phone, and we're also still dealing with non-999 emergencies in person.

This week, a lot of young mums have been concerned, and I'm not surprised.

We do the job we do because we care — and now we have to care from behind a keyboard.

Katie, social worker

I walked for over an hour to avoid public transport and went to eight different shops looking for baby formula and nappies for a young mum who was in isolation with her newborn because of stockpiling.

Today I found out a teenager went into labour over the weekend, and she's panicked as she doesn't have a baby car seat.

She's not allowed to leave hospital without one and they're all sold out, so I've put out a plea on Facebook.

It's stressful times, but people are really pulling together right now and I know we'll be able to sort it.

She has no family so I would usually go with her to the hospital, but won't be able to.

It's hard. We do the job we do because we care — and now we have to care from behind a keyboard.

It's not ideal, but we're doing everything we can to still be there."

The plumber: 'My worry is customers lying about their symptoms to get us in the house'

Peter Booth, 38, from Leicestershire is a self-employed plumber running his family business GV Booth, with help from his 69-year-old dad – who manages the company's office work.

He says: "If I stop working then I'm not going to be earning any money to pay my bills, put food on the table, pay my mortgage.

But at the same time, is it selfish of me to carry on? Sometimes I go into 10 people's houses a day – am I going to be spreading this round?

Last Saturday an elderly couple knocked on the window and told me they'd jump in the car while I fixed the boiler, which was great.

But then another day, a guy suffering with COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hadn't even thought about it.

It's also well known that some tenants lie about having an elderly relative, or a newborn baby in the house, hoping you'll go straight away.

The worry now is, if I ask them if they have coronavirus symptoms, they'll just say no.

I'm trying to stay safe. I've got disposable gloves, hand sanitiser, big wipes, and I wash my hands constantly.

My dad, 69, is another concern, but luckily he's based in the office — so I'm limiting my contact with him now.

So far we're still getting emergency work, but routine servicing down the line is being cancelled.

It could be hugely damaging for us."

The teacher: 'We had one thermometer for the whole school'

Gemma Woodall, 32, works as a primary school teacher in the village of Holme-on-Spalding-Moor in Yorkshire.

She says: "We usually have 206 students enrolled but there's 14 today.

We've had parents asking to bring kids in, but it's like, 'you need to protect us as well'.

We've got a few prison service and carers' children.

I've got a single parent who has three kids and she works directly with the elderly, 12 hours a day.

With someone like that I know we are her last resort.

It can be frustrating when parents are still asking when they're not key workers.

We understand it's hard, but these rules need to be obeyed.

I've had some teachers come to me saying they're worried and anxious about coming in too.

The minute we have any signs or symptoms of anything, even feeling unwell, we isolate the kids straight away.

Our biggest issue was we struggled as a school last week to get hold of a thermometer.

We were actually sharing one for the whole school.

The equipment situation is a real worry. We're doing our bit by being here, at least provide us with what we need to keep things going.

It is a concern for me too. My grandma is completely on her own so my mum and I do help to care for her.

I've had to stop all that now."

The NHS 111 call handler: 'I cry after work'

Debbie* is an NHS 111 call handler based in the north of England. She was beginning to feel immense stress at work — but she's no longer going into the office and is self-isolating.

She says: "The past few days while I've been at work, the call volumes have been high.

We've had queues of over 200 people waiting to be answered at my centre.

The 111 service is under a lot of pressure.

It does seem to be getting better but there's still a lot of vulnerable people who are worried.

I've worked there for over a year and I've never seen this much pressure on the service.

We have to carry on and help the public.

Debbie, NHS 111 call handler

It has been very stressful and I have honestly cried over it as well when I've come home, but sadly we have to carry on and help the public.

Some people are panicked, mainly the ones who have underlying health conditions and a few elderly people as well.

Any of the coronavirus symptoms like a cough, high fever and breathlessness are the symptoms we have to focus on.

That's when we assess further and sometimes get a nurse or doctor to call the patient, but we can't diagnose at 111.

It's just an assumption in case they do have the virus, then they will need to self-isolate."

The chef: 'I've never been so exhausted'

Sam Oxley, 31, a senior sous chef at Italian restaurant Forza Win, in Peckham, South London. 

He says: "As a senior sous chef, I'm used to working extremely long hours in an intense and fast paced environment.

But to be honest, I've never been so mentally exhausted than I was by the end of last week.

Like a lot of industries, the hospitality business has been brought to its knees, and it's heartbreaking to see with no meals to cook and no tables to wait on, colleagues and friends across the industry were sent home.

We were so worried the business would have to close so we tried to keep going, but at the same time, we knew we needed to shut — our customers were so loyal and wanted to show their support still, but it was hard trying to stay open while not knowing if it was the right thing to do.

Boris' announcement that they would pay 80 per cent of staff wages came as a much needed relief on Friday, and this week we're working hard at the restaurant I work in, Forza Win in Peckham, to set up so we can begin deliveries and play our part in helping people do their bit by social distancing.

It's a new world, and we all have to adapt."

The undertaker: 'Some people say they feel cheated'

Raegan Drew, 30, is a funeral director for the Co-op Funeralcare in Edinburgh.

She says: "The coronavirus restrictions are affecting all funerals and, for the first time, we're not able to offer the best service we can, with everything families want.

For example, we're not providing limousines and only 25 people are allowed to attend the service.

However, the crematoriums are offering a free web link so that mourners that feel at risk or are self-isolating can watch at home.

That helps limit the number of people and makes vulnerable people feel part of the day.

Although they completely understand, I've heard some people say they feel cheated that they're not able to have the funeral tea, or wake, because the hotels and halls are closed.

We're discouraging hand-shaking and hugs. Embracing your loved ones and showing them you care is a big part of funerals but right now, you need to show you care by not doing that.

I'm not worried about my own health, because I don't sit inside the service itself.

We are in contact with people at the parlour, but we're doing everything we can to limit that, asking them to will arrange over the phone and email where possible.

We're trying to limit the amount of people coming in, asking if two can come in rather than five or six being in a room for a couple of hours.

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Our business goes in peaks and troughs and winter is always busier than the normal but I haven't noticed it's much busier.

We're having to tweak the details of a lot of funerals that we've already arranged which adds to the workload.

Not being able to have everything they want is upsetting for families who've lost a loved one, but they understand it's necessary."

*Names have been changed to protect their identities.

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