I am not going to lie; when I touched down a week ago, I had very little fear about what is happening with the Coronavirus. Everything here seemed, as usual, just the way I had left it all those months ago. Until the dreaded yellow alert and then everyone went hysterical buying out all of Singapore’s hand sanitizer, thermometers, antiseptic everything and all of the toilet rolls in every supermarket and pharmacy. The queues last Friday were longer than the lines at Universal studios!!! Now that is saying something, then came Saturday where there was barely anyone on the street.
The only people we saw walking around were people in masks and tourists who had not heard or read the news in the past 24 hours. If I am brutally honest, not having to wait in the taxi line or to be served at a restaurant was a nice change. Although we spent most of our day roaming around looking for thermometers and hand sanitizers (I know, I know we have plenty at home, but I admit I panicked a bit) the day was pleasantly calm.
Once Singapore’s PM went live and explained that there is no need for hysteria, most of Singapore began to relax. Sure, I have hand sanitizers and wet wipes in my bag at all time, and I no longer hold onto anything that may have been touched by others including trains and buses (yes my core thanks me). Apart from being a little more sensitive to cleanliness, we are still out and about like usual.
It is funny how I am now embarrassed to cough or sneeze in public (if looks could kill), which is probably the worst thing so far. I have noticed that I have seen more active cleaners around the restrooms and eateries, which is fine with me considering the outbreak here is in the top 3 in the world. We have been told only to wear a mask if you are sick (which I am guessing a lot of people didn’t get that message) as every second person seems to be wearing one.
So to all my lovely family and friends that have reached out in the past few days, thank you. We are doing fine, and the government in Singapore is doing an excellent job of getting the news out ASAP so that all is transparent and there is no hysteria created. Most company employees have the option of working from home or working on alternate days so that there are not too many people in one area. Unfortunately, concerts, sporting events and overseas trips have been cancelled or postponed. But, it is all for the preventative of the spread of the disease than the scare that everyone is infected.
We have been advised that we should head to the general practitioner rather than the hospital so that the elderly, the very young and the sick can be treated with the best care possible. Which totally makes sense to me! I know that walking into a building and having your temperature checked can be annoying but it all for the good of containing the virus.
Maybe I am more relaxed than others, so comfortable that I am heading out on a trip next week. So watch this space.
