The Year We Were Forced To Stay Home

The twin year's twisted turn

The funeral of the late Angie Brown was a somber one. Bustlings activities could be seen at the neighbors has they finished the last preparations with what would be a very large repast.

Tables and chairs were being set out and the cooks could be seen stirring and covering pots of foods. After a long nine night ,they should have been tired but they were up and about early to be on time for the 11 am session.

We arrived early to ensure that we secured our seats. It is not pleasant when you go to a funeral in Jamaica and you have stand up in heels for umpteen hours outside because you failed to reach on time. Luckily when we arrived the body was already lying in state.
She laid peacefully like she was asleep. Before long the husband came barreling down the isle almost hitting the casket off its axles. The grief on his face was that of an animal caught in a trap. It was excruciating. He cried without shame while questioning the dead body why did she leave him so soon.. It was just heartwrenching listening to him . He caused quite a stir from the audience with his arrival.
The service lasted for 45 minutes which was the shortest funeral I have ever attended. There were lots of first for us as a family, because we were not familiar with any of the songs sung and the structure was different. It was different but an okay different after all we were two different religions.
The body was laid to rest in the family plot while her children and parents said their last goodbye. It was a sad day. No parents wants to bury their child but God knows best. It was time to continue with life.

During all this time. The world news was that Chinas mystery illness was now climbing rapidly and was killing persons by the dozens. It was now getting world wide attention.
China is the second largest economy in the world so it would be dangerous if some unknown ,with great magnitude should attack this vast country,then it would cause great impact on many other countries that affiliates with them.
The disease was now called the Corona virus.
The Corona viruses are a set of viruses that range from the common cold to mers [ middle east respiratory syndrome] corona virus and SARS[ severe acute respiratory syndrome Corona virus.The Corona virus typical cause respiratory symptoms.
It was 10 times worst when you have asthma, hypertension, heart disease,diabetes or any other underlying conditions. You would definitely need a respirator.

Still life went on for us while we kept an eye not so much on the happenings.

My parents ,siblings and their friends were preparing to go home . It was a time well spent but all good things must come to an end.
We bid them farewell and decided that we would all meet again at Christmas. We were all looking forward to that.

I was back at work. We were now preparing for sports day which would take place on March 12. The school hired a coach for three days per week just to take the pressure off us teachers. It was a good move by the school. The children enjoyed the exercises and looked forward to these three days with much excitement and glee. It was their chance to escape from one lesson for the day so they could go showboating that they could run faster than their peers.

Meanwhile the news in China was not looking good. Apparently the Corona virus had spread so rapidly that towns were now forced to locked down. Lock down meant no body in and nobody out. All activities were being curtailed. The spread had risen to thousands now in three days. It was not looking good for them. A few countries were now taking notice. Investors had their eyebrows up trying to make a decision whether to pull out of China or not . It would be a devastating lost for them so they were keeping their fingers crossed that the Chinese doctors could contain the outbreak.

On the other side things were going on as expected. Sports at our school was a very huge highlight. It was a very crowded and well supported event so the planning of it took alot. All teachers had to be on board.
As the sports captain of Blue house (love) my duties consisted of cheerleading , athletes arranging, house decorating, the whole planning. It was tiresome but fun at the same time. The end result was fulfilling.

The weeks coming up to sports were the weeks that a lot of changes began. Everyone from the Caribbean was now in tuned to this epidemic.
We were familiar with the Ebola epidemic in Africa some years ago which captivated our attention until it ran its course. It was the worst epidemic we had ever seen in this century. Little did we know something else would surpass that.

It was not the first epidemic in this particular country however. China was well known for their wildlife markets . It was being rumored that this was where the virus was borne.
In 2003 a Corona virus named SARs [severe acute respiratory syndrome]broke out there. It ran its course from Nov 2002 to July 2003.
It killed over 8000 people and affected 26 countries quicker then any disease because of its intensity but the difference with SARS was , it was contained quickly.. It forced the closure of several wild life markets for years until a couple years later they were opened again. I guess they never learned.

Things were getting out of control when Chinas hospital became overpopulated. They were forced to build two hospitals in one week. Amazing! Then things escalated when nearby countries started reporting similar cases. No no no! This virus was beginning to rear its head. It crossed borders and began its descent on other countries. It was now moving from an epidemic to a pandemic. We were still on watch. What the hell did China do?

While we watched with now a close eye, life continued for us . We were not involved.
The week to Sports was approached with hesitant steps. With the happenings around the world people were beginning to be wary.

The weekend before sports was my paternal grandmother's birthday. My uncles were all in Canada and had made preparations to have this event in Jamaica. This means that my older sibling that I shared father with would be returning to Jamaica too. They arrived with much excitement. I have not seen this side of my family for years but we always call each other to check in. It was great meeting everyone again. It was a long overdue reunion. Even though my mom and dad had divorced , my uncles and aunts never left us hanging. They were very close knit, very caring and loving. My grandma did a great job.
It was one of my best nights. There were no words to Express this overwhelming feeling of joy that came over me. I was contented.

My brother would only be here for two days so he took us for breakfast Sunday morning at the Terra Nova hotel where we ate until we were stuffed. It cost him a cool bill but this my brother, nothing was too expensive for him to enjoy. It was while we were on our way back that he informed me that there was not one sanitizer in New York state. That shocked the hell out of me. I remember turning to him so he could repeat himself and he did and my mind began to wander. Was it that serious? I literally began to panic when we drove around some of the bigger franchise that were popular like Mega mart, Pricemart,Fontano pharmacy,Brooklyn supermarket and other smaller entities we could find and all of them were out of sanitizers. What the hell! that was the only statement that ran through my mind. Kingston was out of santizers.impossible! We decided to hit Spanish Town. After visiting several shops we came upon a small pharmacy with some small ones that you attach to your bags and he bought 19 of them. That was all of them.
When we got home he packed them in his suitcases the next day for his return to New York . Wow this was a turn in events.
I bid my brother bye as he made his departure inside the airport terminal. I still had to get to school but in the back of my mind the shortage still lingered. I could not wait to leave school because I wanted to check the places in my community if the items were short.
What I found was astonishing , not only were the santizers finished but the lysols were going down too. I started to tell some of my co workers about the shortage and it was beginning to dawn on us that something major was going to happen. Little did we know how major it would be.