by Ryan Hahn
A lot has changed over the past couple of months for all workers. Some are working from home and some not working at all, but for many of those who have been deemed essential, not much has changed.
Paul Lee has worked as a letter carrier for Canada Post for more than 20 years and talked to me about what it’s been like to work during the pandemic.
Have your shift times changed at all?
They just split up the shifts, so that, that way they don't have all of us in the station at the same time. That way, my shift that goes in for seven, we have to be out of the door by 8:30 for the next shift to come in, the same with the other shift after them.
How has the job changed overall because of the pandemic?
It hasn't really changed too much. We haven't really been getting very many flyers. They kind of cut back on that and at the same time, you get a lot of businesses who would normally be sending flyers, they're in the same situation where they're not working. So, their business kind of has to shut down, but mail is still going out regularly.
Is a signature still required for people to get their deliveries?
When it comes to certain contact items, like our registered mail or any other types of mail that we usually have to get a signature for, they've relaxed on this and made it a straight delivery for them. So, that way we don't even have to come in contact with the people at the door or like the community mailboxes, which my route has both. I do door-to-door and community mailboxes. They say you can just put it in the community mailbox. Once we scan it, the customers can see it that it's been delivered.
What are you doing today to make sure you are safe at work?
They supply us with the gloves, and they supply everybody with hand sanitizer. Everybody has that in their vehicles and stuff like that. They got sprays for us there, if we want to spray down our cases and stuff like that.
Do you feel being an essential worker puts you more at risk of getting COVID-19?
I'm not really in a risky situation because even in normal circumstances, it's not like I come across a lot of people. When I'm out there working, you're pretty much doing your own thing. You're just by yourself. You know, I mean, I'm pretty much-passing people who may just be going for a walk or walking their dog.
Does it worry you the packages you are handling could have the virus on it?
Anything coming from places like China has already kind of been dealt with there before it even gets over here. So, it's like they say, the virus can't live on that and then be transferred to you. So, they say that's not really an issue when it comes to parcels and packets. I mean, yeah, you wear your gloves. The main thing is we just have to follow the same protocol of, you know, whatever we're touching, just don't touch your face and your mouth and stuff like that.
Has working during this time been hard for you?
It’s been very odd. Like, because people know we're out there. I mean, they've seen that on the news as well. The past couple weeks I've gotten a lot of people saying thank you. Like even today, I've got some people who thanked me and stuff like that. Like you know, I mean, I have had a couple of people ask me how I feel and I say it's not a problem.
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