Like everyone else on the planet, we tuned in to news channels, followed tweets, commented on Facebook posts, read articles and shared opinions as we watched COVID-19 roll across the world.
I was working on a cruise ship in the Caribbean and so, at first, it all felt very far away. The crew were from all over the world so we began to hear stories from members of their families as the virus began to affect people’s day-to-day lives.
As countries began lockdown, we started to get fearful for our jobs and health. We turned around 2,000 guests each week, and while most were from the US, where the virus had yet to
take hold, a handful were from more exposed places. The cruises continued, but rumours spread and we all knew something was about to happen.