The outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) brings a grim memory of the previous Ebola epidemic (2014-2015) that affected Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. With the ever increasing COVID-19 case counts around the world, warnings to prepare, testing confusion, and school and business closures, brought fear, anxiety, and psychological stress to me.

Since I have left my family in Sierra Leone and living and working in Liberia, coupled with several stricter measures to contain the pandemic and the uncertainty in the aviation industry, created a bleak future for me. It’s a disconcerting and uneasy time for us all at our workplace.

Although social networks are the source of many fake claims/news, it has been my source of connectivity to constantly being in touch with my children and family back home in Sierra Leone. The well-being of my children is significantly impacted as I am unable to send across the much needed provisions and resources for their use with the lockdown measures instituted here in Liberia.

With the continued lockdown and dusk till dawn curfew in Liberia, my daily routines and the very rhythm of my life have changed, including when to eat and to communicate with my family. I am forced to do things differently; new habits begin to form. I hope it will not take too long – it could be as short as a few weeks or a month to get back to the new ‘normal.’