Dear Editor,

It is typical to slip in these admiration-inducing words in conversation: “Oh, mi jus come from Farrin, y’know.” It used to happen the first chance we got. But these days, no one envies you for that achievement. Well, not since COVID-19.

In fact, a breath-stopping hush, a mental check mark, and the subconscious “suiting up” with our remedy of hand sanitiser are now the limp confetti offered upon hearing these once-celebrated words.

Back before COVID-19, in late 2019, a dear friend got his first opportunity to travel overseas. At age 70 he “got the visa!” and there was much celebration. Fast-forward to today, I don’t think any of us will ever look at the immortalised visa the same way again.

The lessons learned from COVID-19 have ushered in an age of hyper-hygiene, turned up our ‘stooshness’, and transformed some homes into warehouses for sanitation supplies.

As for me, I got the up-close shock of my COVID-19 awareness when a Jamaican presenter slipped in that she had just returned from overseas a few days before. I envied no one on the platform. Maths was all that counted for me in that moment, then the term “self-quarantine” took on life. As I counted on my fingers the number of days since arrival, I hoped that my eyes didn’t register my disbelief. But the corporate silence that fell on the audience was loud in my ear. I guess they, too, took a count and mentally confirmed the single-digit number. The estimated 40 feet away that I sat meant everything to me.

I celebrate my COVID-19-free local vacation the month before our first case was confirmed. I mentally checked and physically self-quarantined and took precautions even though I had vacationed at a local family resort. And, yes, I was very stoosh while there — armed with my remedies of prayer and hand sanitiser.

Gregor K Fong-Hinds

Kingston 19

gregorhinds@gmail.com