Staying the Course

For seven months, we have been dealing with the global problem of a pandemic that nobody asked for. We are exhausted. Back in February and early March when we heard about the virus spreading through Asia, most of us could not foresee what we now deal with on a daily basis.

We wear masks, we wash frequently, we stay home. We don’t get together with friends as often. We don’t see our families as much as we used to. Home entertainment is now entertainment plain and simple.

It would be very easy for us to become complacent at this time. Several months in, we only hear talk of a vaccine. There is no cure, no solution. While we struggle personally and in out homes and workplaces, many businesses are struggling for survival. Some have closed, some are contemplating closing. The situation is grim.

Now is not the time to give up

The worst thing that we could do at this time is to give up hope and allow the virus to win. To give into the obvious and reasonable temptation to flout health and safety regulations will lead to a disastrous upswing in infections that could cause fatal damage to our economy and our way of life. We must actively avoid this at all costs.

The winning formula remains unchanged

Mask-wash-sanitize-distance-stay home has brought us through March into November 2020, and it will take us all the way to a vaccine and an eventual new normal that will incorporate elements of pandemic behaviour, but will more closely resemble our pre-Covid lives. Now is not the time to ease off. Now is not the time to quit. Now is the time to recommit to ourselves, our loved ones, our co-workers, and our countries by waking up each morning determined to do our part to keep us healthy and virus-free.

Time to get creative

Caribbean people are notorious for their creativity. We always seem to be able to find a way to beat any challenge through creative resilience. We cannot meet in person, let’s meet through video calls. We cannot party, lets’ see when the next virtual party or concert is and make a commitment to log on. Buy your eats and drinks! Managers, let’s take one video conference meeting per week and either make it a casual meeting or devote some time in that meeting to fun. Let’s incorporate meeting-free periods in the week to allow people to work uninterrupted by meetings. Caribbean people, we got this!