One week elapsed after the New Year and to my dismay, I had to read the number of COVID cases on the rise. Everything is open to the public with people commuting through the metro, public transport buses, and with millions of employees heading to the office there needs to be stringent surprise checks done.

Whether it is Delta or Omicron the variant is there and we should not just ignore COVID and ruminate after taking the booster shots we will be fine. Sadly, the public is still seen flouting the COVID protocols of not wearing the mask properly, sneezing next to the person and I can’t envision the number of times I had to warn people to pull up their masks.

Luckily, I am still working from home at my solace zone carrying out my daily tasks and taking extra precautionary care even when I head out to a grocery store or to the mall.

There are a lot too many out there who still do not even know what “COVID” is and how it spreads. Most of the schools have come up with distance learning and as a matter of fact, I really don’t find the need for employees doing desk jobs to head to the offices. It’s time to work smart.

The morning preparatory time can be put to pause with no morning traffic making our life a fuzzy one though. Now that the UAE has implemented the new weekends in a bid to manage work-life balance being back home and working should solve a part of the problem. Stay safe.

Mathew Litty — Dubai