Oriental Ghost

By Canute B. White

This book will be a legacy for the next generation to be prepared for future pandemics and make them more aware of the dynamics that exist during global uncertainties. COVID-19 was like a ghost that suddenly appeared, allegedly from Asia, and lingered while creating damages and affecting the lives of everyone-those lives it did not take.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Palmetto Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781641119887

Canute B. White

Canute White worked as a psychotherapist in Broward County Florida, where he also lived after migrating to the United States from Kingston Jamaica. While in Jamaica, he attended Northern Caribbean University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Counseling (Magna cum laude) and a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology (Distinction). He also received a Master of Science in Organizational Studies from University of the West Indies. While writing this book, he was pursuing a Doctorate in Education at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. Mr. White served in the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) before becoming the dean of discipline at a high school and director of safety and behavioral management at a community college in Jamaica. He was also the recipient of a national medal for long service and good conduct in the Jamaican military. The author is the owner of two companies: Deliva Drive LLC and Deliva Drive Ja Ltd (www.delivadrive.com). He has authored five other books, which are currently on Amazon and Google Books: 1. "Awah So?": A Collection of Jamaican Proverbs for Therapy and Empowerment (Published 2018) 2. Soaring Through Turmoil (Published 2019) 3. Thinking Boys (Published 2019) 4. My Little Letter Case (Published 2019) 5. Within...An Anthology (Published 2019)

Book preview

PROLOGUE

If you are reading this book, then you have made it alive through the worst-of-the-worst pandemic we have ever seen. If you were not fond of surprises, then you were forced to accept the COVID-19 pandemic, which was caused by the SAR-CoV-2 virus that had spread through the world while its inhabitants were not looking. It was like a ghost that suddenly appeared and lingered, creating damages and affecting everyone’s life—those lives it had not taken.

Not only was the world at a lull during the pandemic, but it changed during dormancy, and it will never return to normalcy. While Oriental Ghost: Tale of the Coronavirus will not adequately give the newborn an idea of how the world was before COVID-19, it will present a documentation of experiences and transformations during the pandemic.

This book will not only stand among other books on the pandemic but will also take its place among global history books that focused on world events and their impacts on earth’s landscape. Oriental Ghost: Tale of the Coronavirus will be ideal for history students in secondary schools and students in tertiary institutions who are interested in its content for research purposes. It will also be an excellent book for those individuals who just want to reflect on the journey of the pandemic and perhaps obtain a clearer understanding of its episodes in its absence.

There will be a quotation page with a content-relevant quote before each chapter to bring the readers into the chapter with the appropriate mindset. The author will also reflect on each quote. Additionally, readers will be allowed to reflect on each chapter by documenting their own thoughts on a blank page after chapter. The author believes that reading is not only about absorption of content but also about reflection on content. This will help the readers to interact with the book and benefit from its ideas and facts.

Oriental Ghost: Tale of the Coronavirus will help the next generation prepare for future pandemics. It will make them aware of the dynamics that exist in global uncertainties. Oriental Ghost aims memorializing the memories of an unstable year, a year that was never really here—2020.

CHAPTER’S QUOTES

Ghosts don’t haunt us. That’s not how it works. They’re present among us because we won’t let go of them.

—Sue Grafton, M is for Malice

Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.

—Sigmund Freud

No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit.

—Ansel Adams

Many experts believe that the coronavirus will be among us for many years; therefore, there is a need to develop a vaccine.

AUTHOR’S REFLECTION

The coronavirus 2 (SAR-CoV-2) invisibly appeared at the world’s doorstep like a ghost and somehow destroyed the lives of almost all its inhabitants. The virus cannot be seen by the naked eye, and it moves across the path of mankind with destructive and deadly forces. The ghost connotation ascribed to the SAR-CoV-2 suggests one that perhaps does not haunt us but will continue to live among us for a long time. Its long existence was because we were not sure how to let it go. We panicked. We engaged in trials and errors, research, heated discussions, blame games as this ghost devoured an apparently helpless world. Founder of Schmidt Futures and former chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt, described the virus as the silent killer that we cannot see.

There is a psychological belief that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interrelated. As people around the world experienced the challenges that were associated with the COVID-19 pandemic throughout most of 2020, their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interacted. Especially during the global lockdowns, rises in unemployment (the United States had over 42,000,000 applicants for COVID related unemployment benefits as of June 5, 2020, according to CNN), and social restrictions. Despite efforts to alleviate the impact of these challenges, people were reacting. The global population had become unstable and uncertain about the future and how to respond to rapid unforeseen life changes caused by the pandemic. Therefore, many persons reacted to their thoughts and feelings. They expressed themselves through social media, poetry, or simply making a point.

If you feel, then you will have views. If you keep them inside, then they will be senseless.

CHAPTER 1

THE ORIENTAL GHOST

Christmas 2019 was relatively like previous Christmases around the world, a Santa Clause, fruit cakes, and other Christmas traditions unfolded globally. Jamaica, a small island in the Caribbean region, was always a party place with island-wide pockets of music cheers and fun in every parish. New Year’s Eve parties continued the party vibes and fireworks around the world. Happy New Year (in various languages) was on almost everybody’s lips as wishes for a great 2020 flowed through each corner of the earth. As expected, a few days afterward, it was time for a normal life, and the world’s workforce started to buzz again while children reentered the classrooms. Holidays were over, and it was time for 2020 to take its place in the chronology of time.

January was always a slow month, as some people readjusted occupationally, educationally, and financially. Besides the energy, other aspects of life got depleted during the festive season, money in particular. However, a slowdown was expected, as it was normal, and stress for some would be minimal and manageable. Traveling was at its peak as the world’s airports and seaports become busy with travelers trying to return to their homes.

The world has had its usual turmoil of seemingly endless regional wars, political dramas, unusual weather patterns—you name it. However, something came over the entire world, spreading like a slow-moving black cloud that can be seen from a distance and indicates that there’s going to be flood. It was like an omen across earth’s landscape.

As the world’s media outlets monitored this unusual entrance, fear griped every country on each of the world’s continents. Eventually, this omen had a name: coronavirus 2 (SAR-CoV-2). Well, it was also called COVID 19 and coronavirus.

By the end of February, airlines around the world started to ground most of their planes as domestic and international traveling was restricted to contain the spread of the novel virus. Therefore, a number of travelers would have been stranded if they had not been able to travel before these restrictions became effective. Ports were closed, and several airport workers were sent home, as they were not needed. This also affected other aspects of global operations. Commercial planes provide weather forecasters with temperature and wind data. Therefore, global cancelation of flights would have hurt the weather reporting process. The National Weather Service reportedly uses more than 250 million measurements from aircrafts each year.

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