Coronavirus China: Shanghai cleaner sleeps four overnights in public restroom in Covid-19 lockdown, cleans facility for residents with no private toilets
- The woman became something of a local hero as she managed to keep the public toilet in good condition in a compound that has flats with no private toilets
- But she compared the ordeal to “feeling like a boulder was sitting on my chest”
A cleaner in Shanghai spent four consecutive nights sleeping in a public restroom to ensure the facilities remained functional for a locked-down residential compound with many flats that do not have private bathrooms.
Li Chunqiao’s employer, the Shanghai Yangpu Environment Development Co., said she got caught while at work and had to stay in the toilet from March 17 to 21 when the complex was locked down after authorities found coronavirus cases in the residential compound.
Two of the buildings in the complex were built without private bathrooms in the 1950s and residents depend on the public washroom.
“Since the residents could not leave their flats, more people had to use this washroom. A lot of medical workers and volunteers also used the facilities,” she said.
Li said she disinfected the toilets every 30 minutes when the restroom was open between 5am and 10pm.