Journey through Covid-19

1 November 2021 Two months to end of 2021 Two more months before we bid farewell to 2021. What has happened in 2021 so far?

2020 is the Year of Covid-19 with Circuit Breaker and closures of country borders. Many activities and festivals were stopped. We reduced social gatherings among family members and friends. Social distancing and mask wearing were mandated to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Our lives were disrupted.

2021 began with the hope of Covid-19 vaccinations. Covid-19 vaccination is the lifeline against this coronavirus. 84% of Singapore population has received two doses of vaccines so far whilst 15% has received boosters.

We thought that vaccination would get us out of the miseries experienced in last year. But the Delta Variant strain of the virus surfaced in India. India’s daily infection cases crossed 400,000 with over 4,000 deaths in a day in May 2021.

Delta variant spread to Singapore soon after in June. This highly transmissible variant resulted in a serious September/October wave of daily infections and more deaths not seen in 2020.

Singapore went into Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) again on 22 July 2021 with social gathering group size limited to 2.

Singapore entered the Stabilisation Phase on 27 September to slow the rate of transmission and protect Singapore healthcare system. The Stabilisation Phase was extended from 25 October through 21 November 2021. Social gathering group size limited to 2 from 5.

We are now in the current extended period of the Stabilisation Phase.

I look at countries opening up for travellers to enter their borders with much envy.

Movement restrictions are slowly relaxed for their populations. This is because these countries have a high rate of vaccination. Yet in Singapore where our vaccination rate is among the highest in the world, we see restrictions still in place. It is an irony.