After more than one year

For more than one year since March 2020, we have been living under the shadow of Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. The whole world is under some forms of lock downs. Many borders are still closed. Passenger flights are just a small fraction of pre-pandemic level for most airlines. Fewer passengers were taking to the sky because of country restrictions such as quarantine on arrival.

We are staying home most time and limiting contacts with other people for fear of catching the virus. The home is the only safe place since infection cases were detected in places frequented by large crowds. We saw cases in some shopping malls, NEA’s hawker centres and wet markets, and food courts. Work environment, schools, workers’ dormitories, hospitals, care facilities, Changi Airport were not spared from this virus.

We wear our face masks. We interact less with others. We would not shake hands, hold hands or even touch someone on the shoulder or back. We are not to talk on buses and MRT rides. We keep our distance from the next person. We appear anti-social by these behaviours. It is really to protect you and to protect me and by extension to protect our family members.

Being cooped up at homes, people are getting unhappy. Frustration and poor mental health surface. Work from Home and Home-based Learning add pressure to mental wellbeing. Financial hardships happen too for some. This is a period for tolerance and patience with people.

To succeed in containing this virus, everyone has to shoulder his/her responsibilities. The weakest link is any individual who could not care less with all the health advisories. The more of such people around, the more we will be stuck with flare-ups in infection cases.

The silver lining now after one year is that Covid-19 vaccination has started for Singapore. This is a game changer. Before we get herd immunity with vaccination, we still have to continue to be vigilant for now.