READ: A tribute to the faces on the front line

Thursday 30 April 2020

After taking part in #Clap4Carers last night, take a moment to familiarise yourself with these faces all working on the public service frontline throughout the health crisis.

Released yesterday evening, Connect Magazine's special May edition not only pays tribute to the carers, but all those who haven't had the luxury of working from home throughout the covid-19 pandemic and continued to serve the public day in and day out - ranging from Police officers, to waste workers, and even those communicating vital public health messages to us.

On the cover of the magazine and inside are dozens of selfies of these selfless individuals.

Connect also contains five interviews with workers sharing a candid glimpse into life on the frontline:

• David Howell - a GP working in the Urgent Treatment Centre;
• Sasha Baker - a teacher;
• Sam North - a Critical Care manager;
• Stuart Powell - Head of Information Security;
• Grace Kerr - Biomedical Scientist Team Manager at the hospital's Infection Sciences Laboratory;
• And Alison de Bourcier - a member of the contact tracing team, which tracks down those previously in contact with covid-19 patients.

Although the pandemic may have brought feelings of anxiety and fear to many, Editor James Filleul explained in his introduction to the magazine: "One major plus we can take from the pandemic so far, is the end (for now) of frontline workers being taken for granted.

"That's why we have given over our front cover this month to a montage of faces, each one of them someone who has taken the risk of going out to work, just because that's what they do.

"We will all need strength to overcome the weeks of 'fear messages' we have heard through the first phase of the pandemic, and play our part in the next phase of (safely) getting the economy working again.

"We need look no further for inspiration, than the calm courage those frontline workers have shown from the start."

CLICK BELOW to read the magazine in full...