Covid-19

As I write this blog, Singapore is in the midst of battling the Covid-19 Corona Virus. It has been a tough battle and over the last two and a half months, the government has ratcheted up the control measures progressively to address the unfolding threat. I hope to share my observations and personal reflections about life in Singapore during this pandemic.

The Simple Truth

There are many messages about the virus out there (internet). This is my favourite because it cuts to the chase. This is the message behind the social distancing, work from home initiative, only leave your house for essential items/services and social responsibility.

When the virus was first discovered, little was known about it. Our country was in Dorscon Yellow, which simply means that it was then deemed to be akin to H1N1and/or was being contained. As more was known about the virus and cases increased, we shifted to Dorscon Orange. Medical evidence suggested that it transmits easily and could affect people in different ways. Some have very mild symptoms while others had to be treated in the ICU of hospitals. The elderly, those with chronic sickness and those with low immunity were deemed to be at high risk. Interestingly, young children did not seem to exhibit very severe symptoms. The belief then was the virus is transmitted through droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Based on available medical knowledge, there was no need to put on a mask in public places. However, we were told to observe social distancing. As a precaution, each household was issued with 4 masks and told to put it on only when we are unwell and seeking treatment. Being socially responsible was the mantra of the day. Needless to say, masks were in short supply and unscrupulous vendors/individuals were selling a box of 50 masks for $50 or more! I understand that the normal price was about $12 to $15. The government came down hard on these individuals and rightly so.

On 7 February, based on the evolving situation, we switched into Dorscon Orange. This led to a run on the supermarkets. Hoards of worried people rushed to supermarkets and cleaned out the daily essentials - toilet paper, rice, instant noodles, cooking oil, canned food, vegetables, fruits, etc. The authorities came out to assure the public that we had a sufficient stockpile of daily essentials and appealed to everyone not to build their personal stockpile. It was quite interesting. There was an "auntie" who videoed her stockpile of daily essentials and posted it on social media! The situation has since improved but there seems to be a shortage of eggs. I was at the supermarket on the morning of 18 April and this is what the shelf for eggs looked like. This was 5:30 am and thankfully, we managed to buy the eggs we needed. 

Eggs!

The buzzword of the day at the onset of Dorscon Orange was "Business Continuity Plan". We dutifully wrote our BCP and even practiced it with alternate teams. Some of us quickly realised that working from home is not as attractive as it sounded. Personally, it felt like under "house arrest". As with all things, I finally got used to it. One of the key things I found useful in working form home is the importance of daily routines. Without this, the line between work life and personal life gets very blurred.

The Covid-19 situation continued to be challenging. We went through various phases. Initially, there were many imported cases - visitors as well as returning residents. There was a travel advisory to defer all non-essential travel overseas. Despite this, some people still went for holidays simply because they had already paid for the holiday - air tickets, tours, hotel accommodation. Clearly, the severity of the virus had not sunk in. Several returned with Covid-19 as a souvenir! The who came back from overseas had to serve a 14-day Stay Home Notice (SHN). This is legally enforceable and the individual is not allowed to leave the house during this period. Despite this, there was someone who decided to have his Bak Kut Teh despite being served an SHN. He was prosecuted. 

In early April it became mandatory for employers to allow non-essential staff to work from home. This became law on 7 April and all businesses had to allow their non-essential staff to work from home. Approval had to be sought from the authority in cases where staff are needed to perform  essential functions in the office. All schools started Home Based Learning and this will be in effect till 4 May 2020. Also, social gatherings were prohibited.

On 14 April, it became mandatory for everyone who is outside to don a mask.  There were stories about safe distancing ambassadors being abused by the public. At the time of writing this blog, the battlefront is Foreign Workers housed in dormitories. We have seen record high numbers in new Covid-19 cases. I am hopeful that in the coming week, the numbers will start to decline.

It is a sobering time. The tourism sector has nose-dived. Singapore Airlines, once the best and most profitable airline has been paralysed. The F&B sector has tanked, small businesses are in a bad place, freelancers have been hit badly. Even taxis and private hire car businesses have taken a severe beating. The government has drawn on its reserves to bring some relief to individuals and businesses. At this time, we are thankful to our forefathers for their financial prudence.

Our daily living has changed significantly. The photographs below give a glimpse of what it is like.

Playgrounds are closed

No Dining In

Single Entrance to Wet Markets To Enable Crowd Control

I never expected to witness a pandemic of this scale. It has literally brought the world to its knees. However, I think some good learning has come from this unfortunate episode. Hopefully we remember these lessons and not slip into complacency when this is over. The lessons are being  socially responsible, washing our hands with soap and water regularly and putting on a mask when unwell so that we do not infect others. Like they say, "The worst of times bring out the best in people." There have been angels out there who provide free hand sanitisers, taxi drivers who drove healthcare workers to their place of work when others shunned them, kind souls delivering food to those in need including our foreign workers. The list goes on.

Our creature comforts have not been ignored. Just this weekend, Andre Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera was streamed on Youtube. There have been several online concerts too.

On reflection, I wonder if someone is teaching us a lesson - If you don't look after yourself, nobody can. I pray that we get out of this situation soon.