People look on as the US Navy's Blue Angels and US Air Force's Thunderbirds perform a flyover around Centennial Olympic Park on May 02, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. The flight is a tribute to honor Atlanta Covid-19 frontline workers during the coronavirus pandemic. Picture: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images / AFP
Six months ago, I waved goodbye to my family and headed off into the great unknown.
About 19,000 kilometres later I landed in the United States of America, in Atlanta, the capital city of Georgia. That is what being in the thick of things is all about, right? Boy, was I excited.
When Covid-19 stopped being only a Chinese problem and entered the US, I was not at all worried. After all, this is America. If Big Brother was a person, America would be him. He would nip this virus in the bud, right?
Wrong.
Fast-forward to May 2020. Georgia alone has had upwards of 25,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases with close on 1,200 deaths. Life has changed a lot since the start of the pandemic.
We stopped going to work, you may not enter any public space without a mask now, and dare to sneeze or cough in public and the looks are enough to strike you down on the spot.
When my sister got exposed to Covid-19 at work and a few of her colleagues tested positive, she had to take the test too. It was a long five days waiting for her results. When it hits close to home and you hear of more and more people around you starting to get sick, it messes with your head.
You go into a public space and come out with all the Covid-19 symptoms!
Around that time, I swear I could see the virus flying around with my naked eye. It was tense. Fortunately, my sister was negative with the first test – and the second one too.
To avoid pulling all of my hair out from boredom, I took a trip to Texas where one of my sisters lives. Both her airport and mine were empty, the flights there and back had less than 10 passengers.
On arrival in Texas, I was put under compulsory self-quarantine orders. Failure to comply would attract a fine of $1,000 (about R18,600) or 180 days’ imprisonment.
It has been a roller coaster. The stimulus payments that government made have really eased the pain of being out of work.
You can also get food parcels specifically for hotel and tourism employees, as we have been most affected.
Georgia has been one of the first states to start reopening. The numbers are still rising, there is no vaccine in sight and I just hope and pray we don’t come full circle as we start going to work again.
Talk about being in the thick of things …
Gertrude Ncube.
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