While millions of people worldwide are working from home in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus, many of our essential key workers haven’t had the luxury of doing so.

Doctors and nurses are tackling the COVID-19 pandemic on the frontline; supermarket workers are keeping our shelves stocked so we can all feed our families; and teachers have been making sure our children have access to all the learning resources they require to finish the school year.

We each recognise the valuable contribution of the above throughout this public health crisis, yet one group has consistently been forgotten about: the cleaning staff who play a vital role in making sure all areas within hospitals are clean and safe for patients.

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coronavirus hospital staff PA Images

One hospital therefore decided to take things into its own hands recently, applauding its non-healthcare professionals – including cleaning, security, kitchen and infrastructure staff – and recognising the important work they are doing each day.

A video of a large group of health workers applauding the cleaning staff at the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Barcelona went viral after being posted on Twitter last week, prompting many to recognise that they also deserve a tribute.

Alongside the video, the hospital thanked its staff for ‘continu[ing] to perform their tasks in exceptional circumstances due to COVID-19’, adding: ‘A well-deserved applause.’

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Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona Wikimedia

The video was later shared by the Department of Health in Catalonia, which gave ‘special thanks’ to the staff working each day to help stop the spread of coronavirus, describing the role of cleaning staff as ‘discreet but very relevant’.

According to the latest figures by Johns Hopkins University, there have so far been 94,417 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Spain and 8,189 reported deaths, making it the second hardest-hit country after Italy.

Yesterday, March 30, Spain tightened restrictions as the country entered its third week under lockdown and the death toll rose by 913 in just 24 hours. All schools, bars, restaurants and shops selling non-essential items have been shut since March 14, but the new rules will see sectors including construction and most office work halted.

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spain lockdown coronavirus PA Images

The stricter measures ders were announced by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez over the weekend in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus, after he had faced pressure from regional leaders to tighten the country’s lockdown.

The new measures are aimed at limiting all non-essential travel, and therefore flattening the curve of infections as much as possible.

Our thoughts are with all those affected by coronavirus and the families of those who have lost their lives.

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