[custom_adv] The stark inequalities of the coronavirus pandemic have been laid bare by new official figures showing workers in some sectors are several times more likely to die from the virus than others. [custom_adv] Members of many low-paid and underappreciated occupations have suffered a disproportionate loss of life. [custom_adv] Taxi drivers, care workers and security guards are all among the most at-risk groups, the Office for National Statistics said on Monday. [custom_adv] That leaves many employees with a difficult choice: continue to work and put their lives in danger, or stay at home and see their incomes drastically reduced. [custom_adv] The major issue is a lack of proper personal protective equipment (PPE), Sarah says. At the home of 38 mostly elderly residents where she works, carers get plastic aprons, standard surgical masks and gloves, all of which are tightly rationed. “It’s not much at all,” she adds. [custom_adv] Two people have tested positive for Covid-19 at the care home and others have shown symptoms but have not been tested. Officially, there has been one death at the home linked to Covid-19, but Sarah and the others believe more deaths have been caused by the virus but have not been recorded as such due to a lack of testing. [custom_adv] “A lot of the staff are very worried for their own safety and their family’s safety, carrying it back home. They’re very concerned but a lot of them can’t afford to take off time in isolation either.” [custom_adv] Many care home workers thought when when the government announced its furlough scheme that they would be covered for 80 per cent of their wages if they self-isolated. In fact, they would receive statutory sick pay (SSP) of £95.85 per week, meaning a big drop in earnings and difficulty making ends meet. [custom_adv] Are people going to work when they may be ill with the virus? “Yes, yes, definitely,” says Sarah. “I feel there are people that have been in that situation, I really do.”