Audrey Hinchcliffe, founder and chair of the MMS Group of Companies, recently launched her fourth book, ‘A Time Like No Other: The COVID-19 Pandemic, Perspectives on Jamaica’s Experience‘ at the AC Marriott Hotel in Kingston.

It was a well attended affair with many luminaries paying tribute to a lady who was at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19 here in Jamaica.

Below is Audrey Hinchcliffe’s full address at the book launch: 

Good evening and thank you all for accepting my invitation to share with me this occasion on the launch of my fourth book, ‘A Time Like No Other! The COVID-19 Pandemic; Perspectives on Jamaica’s Experience‘. The road to this point, in the words of the musical icon’s Burning Spear was ‘Foggy, Foggy‘… unpredictable and sometimes was downright scary. This evening, however, my cup is indeed full and running over and gives meaning to the song “I’m drinking from my saucer cause my cup has overflowed.” 

Having written four books, I can now say without fear of contradiction that the process of taking a book from concept to completion is not unlike building a company … or in fact piloting the growth and development of a group of companies. I can now declare that in both respects, I am seasoned! And I can declare – What a process! What an experience!

My theme here this evening is “A Time like no other that we must never forget”. 

No one could have predicted the upheaval, uncertainty and universal anxiety that was about to grip the world as 2019 wound down and we wished everyone a happy New Year in anticipation of 2020. Yes, we had heard that something like a health condition was happening in China but nobody anywhere, thought that within a matter of weeks the whole world would be cowering in fear as people tried to prepare to face an enemy that was invisible, stealthy… and deadly.

Things happened so fast! In fact, few had ever heard of Wuhan City in the Hubei Province of China before the health issue there turned out to be the outbreak of COVID-19 there. It was only on January 12, that the World Health Organisation (WHO) “confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City” and just weeks later … on March 10, 2020… our Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. Christopher Tufton, announced Jamaica’s first “imported” case … not from China but from England.

This was followed by the closure of schools, remote or work-from-home directives issued to non-essential workers, the closure of our ports, stay at home orders for our vulnerable citizens and eventually our first island-wide curfew or lock down on March 30. T

his was the beginning of a Time Like No Other that we must not forget.

While the governments of the various countries of the world, including Jamaica, scrambled to devise strategies to keep their populations safe; scientists and the big pharmaceutical companies also raced to find a medical solution in the form of a vaccine to provide hope, if not an immediate cure, for this clear and present danger. We had entered the “twilight zone,” which is generally understood as “dealing with often disturbing or unusual events.” Some of you who are old enough will also recall the television series with the same name aired decades ago which was described as “a strange mix of horror, science-fiction, drama, comedy and superstition.” This is such an apt description of the issues, activities and events that played themselves out against the background of Covid. We were in fact living in, “A Time Like No Other …”

As of today, Wednesday, November 29, 2023, just about three years, eight months and 18 days since Jamaica registered its first Case of COVID-19 … our country has confirmed some 156,468 cases of which about 150,532 have recovered but unfortunately, there have been approximately 3,610 deaths. Many of us lost family, friends and co-workers. None of us in this room was left unaffected. The virus is still with us. When it will end, nobody knows, but what is certain we must never forget.

Ladies and gentlemen … the writing of A Time Like No Other: The COVID-19 Pandemic, Perspectives on Jamaica’s Experience, however, and today’s book launch … are not intended to be morbid or to resurrect unpleasant memories for us. The events, issues and activities chronicled in the book, represent my attempt to provide perspective; to put on record the outbreak of the virus, our response and progression through this global ordeal; to educate and to leave a guide for the future, should there be another such public health emergency. To be prepared is to know and remember. We must never forget!

But why did I decide to write the book? Some of you already know that the publication was preceded by related articles written and published in the Daily Gleaner during the pandemic. Those of you who know me know that I am a keen observer of current events, in other words a news junkie and that I am not one to bury my head in the sand and hide from challenging public discourse. I also have a strong interest in matters concerning public health, an area in which I am trained and have some experience local and internationally (CARICOM). Given my background and the work that I did at Caribbean Health Management Consultants Limited (CHMC) which gave birth to Manpower & Maintenance Services Limited Group (MMS), I therefore thought it was important to go on record as an advocate for dealing with the virus.

This of course was in keeping with our philosophy and activities at MMS in the past, as we have consistently sought, through seminars, to increase awareness and educate the public on other public health threats including dengue fever, the chikungunya and zika viruses; and we were also the first and perhaps the only entity to organise a seminar /workshop – held on March 5 – to raise awareness and encourage preparedness for COVID-19, just days before Jamaica announced its first case. 

This seminar had extensive media coverage including an outside broadcast that was carried from the venue. Again, thanks to all the sponsors – especially Seprod, JSIF, GraceKennedy, Power 106. COK Credit Union and Zep Products – who joined with MMS Group to help to make that event possible.   

In short, ladies and gentlemen, I considered the threat of the virus something with which I should be concerned and as such, jumped feet first into the fray. Initially, I did not know that either the articles or the book based on them would emerge, but later the opportunity presented itself and I saw the possibility of making a further contribution to both health and education through this medium.

Of my four  books this is my third book in about four years, and each has been prompted by impactful public incidents or experiences. The idea for the first, Taking Care, A Manual for Medical Office Administrators (1988), came one day during which I had a health issue which required a hospital visit, I noticed that the long wait was not just due to the large number of patients in the waiting room, but inefficiency in the organization, the running of the ER. I therefore decided to write a manual that would help health and medical practitioners to improve their office management and administration.

After a hiatus, during which I was busy building a business, my next publication came as a direct result of the business. Over the years, in addition to the experience gained, I was invited to share ideas about my life, professional and business experiences with many groups and those speeches and interactions and published articles formed the basis of The Will To Overcome: Reflections on Circumstance, Vision Service (2020), edited with an introduction by advisor and friend and today our Master of Ceremonies, Prof. Dr. Canute Thompson.

The pandemic also inspired another book, Chapters of Your Life, Wise Words for Women on a Life-Changing Journey (2021), written specifically for women but really appropriate for all of us who must examine ourselves, take stock of our lives and make changes … sometimes bravely and single-mindedly … so that we can grow and live optimally. I dedicated that book to my loyal employee and trusted friend, the late Kareen Foster-Jones who became a casualty of Covid-19 at the age of 49. I also believe that Chapters … helped me to cope as I contemplated the overwhelming silence left behind as people sequestered and distanced themselves socially. 

So, A Time Like No Other … had its genesis in the articles that I wrote which were published in the Daily Gleaner during the height of the pandemic; and I must thank former Editor In Chief and former General Manager Garfield Grandison for his encouragement and for seeing the value in what I had to say. Thanks also to Amitabh Sharma, Arts and Education Editor who was responsible for editing and publishing the articles.Based on the very positive feedback, I decided to record my thoughts and observations in this book which should be useful for research, health policy public education and also serve as a call to action and that we must never forget!

This book is published by Caribbean Health Management Consultants Limited (CHMC), Manpower’s parent company … and also the publisher of Taking Care and a host of articles … this book A Time Like No Other is easy to read and referenced as it is divided into several sections covering areas including the COVID-19 Phenomenon, Control and Prevention, The Vaccine Debate, the Socio-psychological Effects of COVID, the Changing Dynamics of Business Operations, Hope in the time of Fear and Chaos and Issues of Compliance, Conflict and Contradictions. I tried to examine topical areas that fueled public debate during the period through chapters such as Quarantine Versus Isolation, Government Policy, the Importance of Public-Private Partnerships; Politics, Protests, Parties, People and COVID-19; Words Matter in Public Education, Mask Matters and a Dictator on the Loose, among others. I have also included the Protocol for Cleaning and Sanitation developed by MMS at the request of the Business Recovery Task Force, as well as a Road Map for Coexisting with the Coronavirus.

Looking back, some of these subjects will make you laugh, some may make you cry while others will no doubt cause you to shake your head in wonder. But the reading of the book and reflection is worth the time and effort because … We must never forget!  

In writing, I tried not only to focus on the topic from a personal perspective but also from the point of view of the government – particularly the Ministries of Health & Wellness, Education & Youth and Local Government – which had to find daily solutions to challenges for which there was no precedent; and of course through the lens of business since operations had come, in some cases, to a grinding halt and people’s livelihoods and the island’s economy were threatened. Manpower and its employees were also on the frontlines providing both public and private sector support in the areas of cleaning and sanitization. Our organisation, like others that could not go into full lockdown, had to find strategies to keep our employees safe.

Our experience led to the many lessons learnt but also opportunities seized. At MMS we saw that there was a gap in the supply of cleaning and sanitization products and equipment and sought to fill that gap by opening our Sales & Distribution arm in 2021. Additionally, being also in the business of workforce education through our Institute for Workforce Education & Development (IWED), we are now partnering with HEART/NSTA Trust to train Occupational Health Aids for employment in companies with large staff cadre and interaction with the public to guard against being caught napping in the future, where Security Guards and even cleaners became gate keepers checking temperature and spraying whatever on hands at entrance. Hence the chapter in the book “A Gun to the Head and a Dagger to the Hand. 

I cannot forget to thank all our employees who put their lives on the line to ensure the safety of others. We are grateful to those who publicly recognised the organisation and our frontline workers for their effort – the RJRGleaner Communications Group that presented Manpower with Platinum and Honour Awards; Global Services Association of Jamaica that honoured us with the Excellence in Service Award and of course the Ministry of Health and Wellness through the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA), from whom we received an Award of Appreciation “In recognition of unwavering dedication and collaboration with SERHA in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Images of these tangible tokens are included in the book and I am sure they will help to ensure that we never forget.

As I outline in the book, from this experience, “it behooves us [globally but specifically here at home] to develop a personal plan – whether it is called a road map or framework…” for survival. This must be based on an assessment of “the circumstances which govern [our] lives and livelihood and plan accordingly.” On the government’s part, there is certainly enough information from experience, trial and error, to craft a national strategy going forward. And I believe thatA Time Like No Other… can help in that regard since We must never forget.

Ladies and gentlemen … bringing this book to fruition required the input of many … from those who encouraged its publication, to those who were literally in the trenches with me circumventing the challenges one by one. 

Thanks to the Gleaner for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts and opinions with Jamaica and the world. I also owe Maxine McDonnough my Editor a huge debt of gratitude for wholly embracing the book project and working patiently and expeditiously to complete it. 

Thank you, Professor Peter Figueroa, for your insightful foreword; Fayval Williams for the introduction and Dr. Christopher Tufton for your endorsement. Thank you, Gary Allen, CEO of the RJRGleaner Group, for the written commendation of the work.

I am grateful to you all for believing enough to take the time to lend your voice and expertise to this publication, as well as for your support here today.

Thanks also to Dr. Morais Guy, Senator Damion Crawford and Milton Walker for your endorsement, and P. J. Patterson.

I am also grateful to Sheree Rhoden of the Gleaner for collating the articles and providing related references and images. To the JIS team lead by Taja Simpson … your patience, understanding and full cooperation is greatly appreciated. Thank you for working assiduously to complete the printing of the publication in record time.

A huge thank you to Don Gittens, the new Manpower CEO, who has not only supported my effort verbally but has provided sponsorship through the Manpower Foundation so that the project could be completed. Like I have done with all my other publications Don, I am committing 100 per cent of the proceeds from the sale of this book to the foundation so that the organisation can continue to support young people in the areas of education and sports. 

Thanks to my trusted and dedicated MMS staff who assisted me to compile the material, especially Yolande Sealy, Nicole Lindsay and former employee Caresha Hubbins.

And finally, thanks to all those who participated in this evening’s programme: our esteemed guest speaker whose insightful presentation greatly enhanced the proceedings; Dr. Alfred Dawes, Mr. Wayne Chen, Reverend Gary Harriott, Ms. Monica Young, my niece Marilyn Pyrce who flew all the way from New York to be with us; our entertainers, and of course, our Master of Ceremonies who performed his duties so ably. Thanks also to the AC Hotel, a MMBS client and thank you all for attending and contributing to the success of the programme. 

Finally, ladies and gentlemen … all I can say is that it is now over to you to see what the hype is all about. Buy the book (in fact, buy all my books!), read it and give it as gifts. I am depending on those who can to sponsor copies for libraries island wide and to put a copy in every business and household. The book’s sale is for a worthy cause but your ownership of it and making use of the information contained in its pages can result in our own survival. 

We have just navigated … and are still riding the waves … of one of the most unpredictable and deadly periods in recent history. A Time Like No Other … can help to remind us of the public health risks, our roles, and responsibilities…lest we forget!  

Thank you!