In the second week of February 2020, I had just returned from a business trip to Trinidad and Tobago when news came that the novel virus was detected in Wuhan China. According to the BBC, the virus was highly contagious, linked to a wet market, and transmissible through human to human contact.
A week later, the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the United States, and I knew that it was only a matter of time before it arrived in Jamaica.
The good thing was, I was working for an international company, and they were very proactive. As soon as news came that the virus was an epidemic, preparations began in earnest in all eight countries in our region, including Jamaica.
On my first day back at work in Jamaica, I spurred into action. I was assigned the role of Disease Prevention Coordinator, and my duties were to prepare the office facilities to conform to the World Health Organization protocols, and to educate our employees on mitigating measures that they needed to begin observing immediately.
On March 9, 2020 COVID-19 made its grand entry in Jamaica, and my life, job, and lifestyle changed drastically, and has not been the same since.
Stay tuned to receive updates on my experience since the pandemic began!