Our Lives have Changed

Covid-19 infection came out of the blue. The worst time for this to happen was when the Chinese were about to ring in the New Year of the Rat (on 25 January 2020). Wuhan City of Hubei Province is the place where the new coronavirus first surfaced. From January to February 2020, the world saw how infectious this virus can cause. 71,332 were infected with 1,775 deaths. (17 February 2020, 2.47 pm)

Face masks are in short supply at the stores. Toilet papers and hand sanitisers are sought after commodities.

Tourist arrivals to Singapore are expected to drop by 25-30% for this year according to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). Spending by tourists is expected to be reduced too. China visitors were top visitors in 2019 at 3,627,000 followed by Indonesian tourists (3,110,000). From the economic point of view, China tourists are an important source of tourism receipts for the economy. Because of Covid-19, the Singapore government instituted travel ban on new visitors with recent travel history to Hubei or those with Chinese passports issued there. The ban was extended to travellers with recent travel history to China or who have Chinese passports. (1 February). This effectively cuts off tourists from China.

Since the coronavirus is infectious, large gatherings were avoided. People are shopping less at retail malls based on anecdotal evidence.

We are more conscious of personal hygiene. Messages were put out to avoid touching our faces with our hands. We resist the urge to touch our faces with our hands for fear of transferring the virus from hands to eyes, noses and mouths.

More people are wearing masks at public places and in public transport. Wearing a mask was a rare phenomenon before this. People coughed freely in public places. Now we suppress our coughs and sneezing.

The mortality rate for Covid-19 is low when compared with SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). But, no one wants to be infected with this virus because of the disruptions to his/her life and the lives of those people he/she came into contact with.

Life is not easy for this period when China and the world are trying to battle this outbreak. Our lives have changed. This is necessary and in time to come after we have succeeded we can look back at this episode as another history of medical conditions. Hopefully, we have learned our lessons.

This too will pass. We can overcome.