Travelling in Coronavirus’ time

TRACKING____ I had spent two days in Liverpool and was headed to Houston via Manchester and Paris. When the airline started boarding passengers, I was in the restroom. I later joined the queue, but the e-gate refused to read the bar code on my boarding pass.

A woman asked for my passport, scanned through it and obviously saw my China visa. She wanted to know if I had been to China this year and I answered in the negative. “I was last there in April 2019,” I said.

I added that I had been in the U.S. twice after that. She directed me to a man for a routine security check, which I passed in flying colours, and made my way into the Air France flight from Paris to Houston.

The officials’ enquiries about China was an indirect way of being sure I was not about to import Coronavirus into the United States.

A few days into my stay in the United States, my beloved Nigeria recorded its index case of the deadly virus, which started in Wahun, China, and has recorded casualties in almost all the continents of the world.

I looked forward to an interesting return journey to Lagos, where the Italian index patient is receiving world-class attention.

At the Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, I saw a number of people wearing a mask or 3D respirator, including a father and his two sons.

There was a visible hand sanitizer on the KLM desk. While I went to use the toilet at IAH, a Caucasian noticed another Caucasian thoroughly washing his hands and said: “You are not leaving anything to chance.”

He replied in the positive, and added: “I am a Microbiologist.” This led to questions about the use of a face mask and the campaign against its use. The Microbiologist explained that the campaign was borne out of the fact that the majority were not using it properly.

He said a user was not supposed to be touching the mask after using it. “After all, we use it in the lab and it works but most people don’t know how to use it,” he said.

We all left the toilet and found our way back to the terminal hall. At the Schipol Airport in Amsterdam, there were some face mask-wearing passengers pushing trolleys or bags.

As we waited by Gate E17 for our seven-hour journey to Lagos, a fellow Nigerian, who was ‘gisting’ with his friend on phone, spoke about having a face mask and hand sanitiser, which reminded me that a sanitiser was also somewhere in my blazer’s pocket.

He also attributed the spread to China’s hold on the global market. The long and short of it, he advised regular hand washing and use of sanitiser.

Some hours into the flight, we were all given a compulsory form to fill. Issued by the Federal Ministry of Health, we provided information about whether or not we had had a fever, cough, difficulty in breathing, flu, or generally feeling unwell in the last two weeks.

We were also made to reveal if we had been in contact with anyone feeling unwell in the last two weeks. The ministry also retrieved information on the use of antibiotics, antiviral drugs, paracetamol and other pain-relieving medications.

As I concluded providing the information, including home address and phone number, a passenger by my side seeped his hand into his pocket and out came a sanitiser, which he religiously applied to his hands.

In between looking out for anti-coronavirus movies, I resumed seeing Zulu Wedding, an amazing South African movie which featured our own Prof. Kole Omotoso. D’Banj, who is one of its executive producers, had a cameo appearance.

It was shot in New York, Botswana and South Africa. One of the last images I picked up as we landed at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport was a white guy clutching a sanitiser.

That the authorities in Nigeria are not joking about the virus was evident as we came to the arrival area: I saw hand sanitisers placed at different points; officials checked the forms to be sure they were properly filled; I also saw glove-wearing officials taking charge.

Automatic and handheld temperature gauges were deployed. Phone numbers and other contact details were obtained through the form. Any form without these details was turned down.

The virus has spoiled so many things. There is no nation it has not affected. Even nations without any case of infection are not insulated. Airlines have had to cancel thousands of flights. I was afraid my flight back home could be cancelled.

Also, many international conferences have been put on hold. One of such is the London Book Fair. The organisers’ statement: “Reed Exhibitions has today announced that the London Book Fair 2020, scheduled to take place at Olympia, London, from 10 to 12 March, will be cancelled following the escalation of COVID-19 Coronavirus in Europe.

“The effects, actual and projected, of Coronavirus are becoming evident across all aspect of our lives here in the UK and across the world, with many of our participants facing travel restrictions.

We have been following UK government guidelines and working with the rolling advice from the public health authorities and other organisations, and so it is with reluctance that we have taken the decision not to go ahead with this year’s event.

“We recognise that the business has to continue. With this in mind, we will of course support and collaborate with exhibitors and visitors to keep our world moving during this difficult period.

We thank all those from the UK and multitude of other countries who have prepared over the last year to deliver what promised to be a wonderful book fair showcasing, as ever, the exciting best of the global book industry. The London Book Fair will return, better than ever, in 2021.”

It has also forced Italy to quarantine almost a whole city; China appears to be on lockdown; Japan and South Korea have had fatalities.

In Iran and the United States, deaths have been recorded. The rich’s cruise ships have been isolated at sea. The Pope has had to be avoiding the crowd and the umrah regularly performed by Muslims has been cancelled, even the Olympics are threatened.

I doubt if the annual Hajj this year will not be affected. The oil price has crashed to an all-time low and it remains to be seen how it will affect our budget this year. No thanks to coronavirus aka COVID-19.

My final take: At a time like this, we all need to be careful to escape coronavirus and to prevent it from further penetrating the world. It has done enough damage already and in our little corner, we should join the race to clip its wings and leave it prostrate.