I must say the last couple of weeks have gone quickly despite the monotony. I have been able to go out to do some grocery shopping and saw a buddy of mine from school. We burst out laughing when we saw each other. Goodness we must have really looked a sight, especially with our N95 masks and gloves. Though we could not take a photo together, that scene of us will be etched in my memory forever. It was so surreal! She was lamenting as to how this week was going to be a challenging one, as she was trying to coax clients to pay what they owed so in turn could pay her employees. In addition, our old school were starting their online portal this week and as her children go there, was going to have to supervise them.
We are all undergoing challenges in these abnormal times and it is most frustrating (especially in Ghana) getting clients to pay on time! I just pray she is able to sort something out. How are you handling being furloughed or still in your job and working from home? It would be good to hear how you all are handling that. Unfortunately in Ghana as an HR consultant, I hate to say this but we do not have any regulations as yet to guide employers who may want to furlough staff. A number of law firms have compiled some guidelines but the Labout Act itself is still woefully inadequate.Thankfully because I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, UK, I have been privy to guidelines that are being compiled. I hope we can sort something out very soon, so that employers can do the right thing.
Thursday 16 April 2020
Friday 3 April 2020
Day 4
Here we are again. Today is Day 4 of the lockdown. Not much has happened today as it has been very quiet. Still quite a lot of people walking around and aimlessly I might add. Hmmm...Not very happy about it.
Yesterday I walked up to a supermarket which is about 10minutes for me and the road was empty. A few cars drove past (and a bit too fast I might add) but it was quiet. There were only 2 shoppers in the whole place and I giggled as I walked in. I am becoming quite good in getting what I need in record time. Reminds me of a video clip I saw where shoppers were given a short time to grab stuff off the shelves. First they were given a quiz and if they answered correctly, the shop owner would count from 10 backwards to give them time to grab as many items and put into their shopping baskets. A bit of fun to break the gloom and doom I suppose.
Today again in the UK, they were applauding the frontline workers keeping the country going. A chap in Glasgow decided to bring out his bagpipes and play and did he have his neighbours come out in droves! They are doing an amazing job and a few of my own personal friends find themselves among the frontline staff. I pray they stay healthy and continue to give off their best.
Read this afternoon that in the Netherlands, samples of the novel Coronavirus had been found in their sewage before cases started to come through to their hospitals. I do not know what you must think, but this is quite scary.
What is happening where you are? Are you also undergoing a lockdown? Do share.
Yesterday I walked up to a supermarket which is about 10minutes for me and the road was empty. A few cars drove past (and a bit too fast I might add) but it was quiet. There were only 2 shoppers in the whole place and I giggled as I walked in. I am becoming quite good in getting what I need in record time. Reminds me of a video clip I saw where shoppers were given a short time to grab stuff off the shelves. First they were given a quiz and if they answered correctly, the shop owner would count from 10 backwards to give them time to grab as many items and put into their shopping baskets. A bit of fun to break the gloom and doom I suppose.
Today again in the UK, they were applauding the frontline workers keeping the country going. A chap in Glasgow decided to bring out his bagpipes and play and did he have his neighbours come out in droves! They are doing an amazing job and a few of my own personal friends find themselves among the frontline staff. I pray they stay healthy and continue to give off their best.
Read this afternoon that in the Netherlands, samples of the novel Coronavirus had been found in their sewage before cases started to come through to their hospitals. I do not know what you must think, but this is quite scary.
What is happening where you are? Are you also undergoing a lockdown? Do share.
Tuesday 31 March 2020
Lockdown - Day 2
Day 2 and Spain has recorded its worst numbers of death, 849. That just leaves one cold. A week ago on my Facebook page, I sent out a message to all health professionals the world over. Some of my friends who are doctors and nurses in the United Kingdom and in the United States, are on the frontline and each day I say a prayer for them. I also just heard that one of my favourite anchors on CNN has contracted Covid 19. You may all know Chris Cuomo the outspoken anchor whose programme is "Cuomo Prime Time". I missed an interview he did with his brother Governor Andrew Cuomo earlier today but I hear he is in good spirits. I wish him a speedy recovery.
Here in Ghana a lot of people have been complaining about how our medical staff do not have enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Trust me it is worldwide! At midday a doctor in England was talking about how he had tried to improvise after seeing how the doctors in Lombardy were dressed by buying something similar to a Hazmat suit. He turned up at the health centre where he was supposed to start work and was told he could not wear that. He told them in that case he would not be willing to take the risk to work without it. Do I blame him? No I do not. In fact, there is a growing number of nurses who are refusing to go to work if PPEs are not made available to them.
Breaking news. Just saw on Sky News something different happening in Cotugno Hospital in Naples, Italy. The docotors are wearing not only the jumpsuits but a different mask altogether not the N95 masks. These masks have a full face shield so covers your entire face. Also they have a clearly marked lane with a red and white tape which demarcates the lane leading to the areas of infection and the lane leading to non infected areas. Nurses and other medical staff cannot cross but rather stay in their designated lane. There are even security guards on hand to ensure no-one crosses the line. A nurse prepared an injection and then passed it through a compartment to the doctors who were in the room with an infected patient who was crashing. He did not enter the room where the patient was hence minimising the risk of infection. A doctor who was interviewed said they had fought and fought until they got all their "high tech" PPEs. They are definitely my team of the day.
Here in Ghana a lot of people have been complaining about how our medical staff do not have enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Trust me it is worldwide! At midday a doctor in England was talking about how he had tried to improvise after seeing how the doctors in Lombardy were dressed by buying something similar to a Hazmat suit. He turned up at the health centre where he was supposed to start work and was told he could not wear that. He told them in that case he would not be willing to take the risk to work without it. Do I blame him? No I do not. In fact, there is a growing number of nurses who are refusing to go to work if PPEs are not made available to them.
Breaking news. Just saw on Sky News something different happening in Cotugno Hospital in Naples, Italy. The docotors are wearing not only the jumpsuits but a different mask altogether not the N95 masks. These masks have a full face shield so covers your entire face. Also they have a clearly marked lane with a red and white tape which demarcates the lane leading to the areas of infection and the lane leading to non infected areas. Nurses and other medical staff cannot cross but rather stay in their designated lane. There are even security guards on hand to ensure no-one crosses the line. A nurse prepared an injection and then passed it through a compartment to the doctors who were in the room with an infected patient who was crashing. He did not enter the room where the patient was hence minimising the risk of infection. A doctor who was interviewed said they had fought and fought until they got all their "high tech" PPEs. They are definitely my team of the day.
The Lockdown begins
Wow! What a couple of months it has been thanks to Covid 19. Personally I cannot believe how things have changed in such a short time. I went from catching up with the world news each morning and wondering when we in Ghana were going to be hit and it has happened!
I had been checking in with friends, first based in Milan and then friends both in Canada and the United States. Initially when I was speaking with friends in Canada, one in particular was a bit laid back about it and kept saying he had not heard anything from the Premier of his Province's office. A week later he called me in a panic: "Hey guess what? It is official! We all have to close down and stay at home..." I just could not resist and said; "I told you! 😏
There has been so much information flying around! Suddenly people have become mini news providers and are bombarding each other with everything from medical information to conspiracy theories. I have a rule whereby after 7pm, no-one should send me any news on Covid 19! At this point I am about to explode and will probably start muting certain people on my whatsapp messenger
So back to my heading, lockdown began at 0100hrs and today I noticed that there have been quite a number of people walking around. A bit strange as we were told to stay home mostly. I know provision has been made for people to be able to go shopping for water and food but it was a bit surprising because for some of us, a lockdown means just that! No coming or going. Ghana's lockdown covers certain cities that have been identified as the epicentres, namely, Accra,(the capital) Tema (one of our busy harbours and where the Greenwich Meridian passes through) Kumasi (home of the Ashanti King) and their environs. As to be expected, a number of people who had been working in Accra have vamoosed to the rural areas as they feel they will not be able to earn their daily bread now that most companies and amenities have been shut.
I saw a video just around bedtime that showed a truck carrying goods also had passengers, mainly women seated in between the cargo. Some of these women were pregnant and some had toddlers with them. How could they possibly travel in this vehicle, I asked myself? Could they even breathe? Apparently they got to a check point and the police could hear people shouting that is how come they were discovered. However I saw them climbing back on the truck after a little while and was shocked. Why oh why do people take such risks?
I had been checking in with friends, first based in Milan and then friends both in Canada and the United States. Initially when I was speaking with friends in Canada, one in particular was a bit laid back about it and kept saying he had not heard anything from the Premier of his Province's office. A week later he called me in a panic: "Hey guess what? It is official! We all have to close down and stay at home..." I just could not resist and said; "I told you! 😏
There has been so much information flying around! Suddenly people have become mini news providers and are bombarding each other with everything from medical information to conspiracy theories. I have a rule whereby after 7pm, no-one should send me any news on Covid 19! At this point I am about to explode and will probably start muting certain people on my whatsapp messenger
So back to my heading, lockdown began at 0100hrs and today I noticed that there have been quite a number of people walking around. A bit strange as we were told to stay home mostly. I know provision has been made for people to be able to go shopping for water and food but it was a bit surprising because for some of us, a lockdown means just that! No coming or going. Ghana's lockdown covers certain cities that have been identified as the epicentres, namely, Accra,(the capital) Tema (one of our busy harbours and where the Greenwich Meridian passes through) Kumasi (home of the Ashanti King) and their environs. As to be expected, a number of people who had been working in Accra have vamoosed to the rural areas as they feel they will not be able to earn their daily bread now that most companies and amenities have been shut.
I saw a video just around bedtime that showed a truck carrying goods also had passengers, mainly women seated in between the cargo. Some of these women were pregnant and some had toddlers with them. How could they possibly travel in this vehicle, I asked myself? Could they even breathe? Apparently they got to a check point and the police could hear people shouting that is how come they were discovered. However I saw them climbing back on the truck after a little while and was shocked. Why oh why do people take such risks?
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