While most of us are safe at home during the Covid-19 pandemic, essential workers put their lives at risk to keep Bermuda going. The Royal Gazette salutes these selfless men and women in hospitals, supermarkets, delivery vans, gas stations and other key services with our new seriesA gas station worker said she was fuelled by a commitment to her family to stay on the job despite the risk of Covid-19.Desire Minors, 42, explained she continued to work hard at Esso Tigermarket in Hamilton, despite a lower number of customers, to help take care of her three children and elderly mother.Ms Minors said: “Work can be very stressful, especially because I don’t want to catch anything and take it home, but I do have to work to make sure my family is cared for.“I just do what I have to do, in all honesty.”Ms Minors, from St David’s, said that she did four ten-hour shifts a week from 8am to 6pm.She added that her main responsibility was to man the cash register but, now, she spends most of her time cleaning her work area and stocking shelves, because of the slowdown in customers.Ms Minors said: “We’re not seeing customers as often as we normally do. There’s not really too much to do, but I try my best to do what I can.”Ms Minors said that she and her husband worked during the day, which sometimes made it difficult for them to spend time with the rest of the family.Ms Minors explained: “It can be very stressful working ten hours and then trying to go home and see how my 14-year-old daughter’s making out with her online classes.“I try to spent time with the rest of my family, like making sure my two-year-old girl is occupied.“Being in the house all day is kind of stressful for her and, of course, she doesn’t understand why she’s stuck at home being at the age she is, so trying to find things for her to do can be quite stressful sometimes.”Ms Minors said that her 69-year-old mother and 18-year-old son cared for the younger children when she was at work.She added: “I’m so grateful for my mom because if she wasn’t home watching my kids, I would actually probably have to be home to watch them, so she’s definitely a big help.”Ms Minors said that she tried her best to keep her family safe by washing her hands and changing her clothes as soon as she got home.She added: “At work, I always keep myself sanitised and make sure everything around me is clean, because I’m thinking ‘I don’t want to get anything and I definitely don’t want to take it home’.”Robert Holdipp, the gas station manager and cofounder of H&M Service Stations, which runs the Esso Tigermarket, said that Ms Minors was a reliable worker and an important part of the team.He added: “She’s one of our employees that we can describe as very consistent, even in the midst of this whole Covid-19 pandemic and dealing with her mom and her home and her little one. She’s a definite asset to this gas station.”