Fully vaccinated, we headed to the drive-through antigen testing site at Old Hope Road as we prepared for our first overseas visit in 15 months. It was an easy process; there was no need to leave the car as they brought out a card with a QR code so we could answer a few questions on WhatsApp, pay via a mobile card machine, and 30 minutes later our results were in our inbox.

Because we didn't want to change flights we got a ride to Montego Bay to catch Southwest to Baltimore. Our favourite spot in the airport, Club Mobay, was buzzing, with attentive staff and great snacks. There were frequent reminders that masks had to be worn in the airport and on the flight.

The jovial flight attendant announced that no liquor was available — this after a rowdy passenger had attacked a Southwest attendant a few weeks before on a US domestic flight. The plane looked spotless, but we did wipe down the arms of the seat just to be sure.

On arrival, there were no questions about vaccination and testing as all this had been checked in Montego Bay, but lots of questions about agricultural products. We detailed everything we had in our bags, but, along with the few Jamaicans, were still directed to the agricultural line, where the lady wrote down the items — coffee, coconut drops, bun, tamarind balls, rum cream, “No, Ma'am, no mangoes,”; how I wished I could have taken the lovely mangoes from my trees. My relatives have been buying them for a fortune at the West Indian store.

So here we were in the fully opened state of Maryland. Many folks were not wearing masks, but we kept them on wherever we went. There was indoor dining and we understand that cinemas and other places of entertainment were well attended.

What a difference vaccination makes. What a tragedy that there are still so-called pastors dissuading their congregants there and here in Jamaica from taking the vaccine. It is the unvaccinated who are accounting for those COVID-19 deaths still occurring.

We had to be tested to return to Jamaica, benefiting from the free PCR tests offered by the US Government for anyone, whether citizen or not.

Returning home, there was not one empty seat on the flight and most were tourists. The Montego Bay Airport was busy and Club Mobay was packed to capacity. Our Red Cap Porter, Mr Nelson, regaled us with stories as we crossed to the Knutsford Express on the airport premises. Let us pause to congratulate the founder of Knutsford Express, Oliver Townsend, for creating this islandwide transportation system that is professionally run. You can set your watch on its departures. It has been a godsend for Jamaicans travellers.

Come Wednesday, we will have shorter curfew hours, beginning at 11:00 pm on weekdays and 6:00 pm on Sundays. There will be a 70 per cent allowance for seating in churches and cinemas. However, we are reminded that mask-wearing, distancing, and regular handwashing or sanitising are crucial to maintaining this gradual opening up.

Understandably, members of the medical community are concerned as they became burnt out just a few months ago when beds and oxygen were running short. With loud calls from the entertainment sector, the Government is again trying to balance lives and livelihood.

The challenge is the discipline required to respect the protocols. I was concerned at the announcement that 5,000 spectators would have been allowed to attend the National Trials. Yes, we understand that they would have been spaced out, but the science shows that shouting and laughing cause aerosols of fine droplets to travel more than six feet. None of us can keep quiet when we see our favourite athletes flying to the finish. Good sense prevailed and the decision was reversed.

Clearly our athletes were not napping during the pandemic. The fastest woman alive, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, thrilled us with her “Mommy Rocket” skills, and Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shericka Jackson, and young Briana Williams are the promise of a breathtaking Tokyo Olympics relay team.

We have been spoiled by our sub-10 men's athletes, but we should note that Yohan Blake did that in the semis and we should not give up hope of a good showing. Indeed, I have a soft spot for Blake, who has been a strong supporter of Food For the Poor over many years.

Having been working from home since last year, we will cautiously reopen PROComm and Caribbean Community of Retired Persons (CCRP) offices next Monday. Sanitising, spacing, and masking will all have to be observed, but we miss the spontaneous exchange of ideas and the quick calls for team support that cannot happen on Zoom.

Happily, we have been able to host development seminars and an entertaining talent evening on Zoom for CCRP seniors, including items by our Living Legacy honorees Dr Jean Small, Merel Hanson and Dr Owen James. Our members are talented, witty individuals who could perform on any stage.

We gave thanks when the 22-year sentence was handed down to the cold-blooded police officer Derek Chauvin, who squeezed the life out of George Floyd, keeping his knee on his neck for over nine minutes, despite his pleas of “I can't breathe!” We give thanks because every time we think of our US relatives being pulled over by a police officer we are filled with fear, knowing previous outcomes of similar situations. We give thanks because a brave teenager kept her phone video on for the entire duration so that the world could see the cruelty of racism.

We give thanks that the peoples of the world responded in pain and anger, and 'Black Lives Matter' echoed across the globe as humans of every colour marched against the savagery that they saw. We give thanks and we pray that this sentence will be a warning to every racist individual that the world will not stand by and allow their prejudice to stand in the way of justice.

We were impressed when Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Vice-President Mariame McIntosh-Robinson shared their current programmes in a meeting last week — promoting access to financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); the E-commerce National Delivery Solution (ENDS) project for micro businesses; the Children's Help Line in association with the Office of the Children's Advocate and the Digicel Foundation; the Connect-A-Child project to raise funds for laptops and tablets for students; the Public Sector Vaccination Initiative (PSVI); the standing committee on national security and justice; and support of Government's tree-planting programme. Well done, PSOJ.

The video recordings of the partial collapse of a condominium complex near Miami Beach are stunning. Now, rescue workers are digging through the rubble to find the 159 people who are unaccounted for, as we hope and pray with their grieving families. On social media, architects and construction engineers are weighing in, suggesting faulty design, rising waters, and poor maintenance.

The lesson to builders here in Jamaica is that it may seem like an arduous stretch to get the soil-testing, the National Works Agency (NWA), National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), and fire brigade approvals, but we must respect the process.

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