Living a new normal

My family went to Bugis Junction to eat lunch at a restaurant there on 24 August. We did not know that a Covid-19 cluster was developing. We got to know that Bugis Junction had 20 cases of staff working at the mall the following day. We could have avoided Bugis Junction if we knew the new cluster earlier. It was a day late. Since Tuesday, the number of cases had grown to 148 cases in just four days.

As reported in today’s newspapers (27 August), two new clusters had formed at Toa Payoh and Punggol bus interchanges. Toa Payoh bus interchange has 25 cases and Punggol bus interchange has 11 cases. It is getting nearer to home. Many commuters use bus interchanges for their commuting and they are usually busy with people passing through or just sitting around.

Coming back to Bugis Junction cluster, MOH advised visitors to the mall to monitor their health closely. We did not receive any notification that we are close contacts with the infected people. However, people can book an appointment for free swab test a regional screening centres and other venues till August 31. We did just that this afternoon via the appointment booking system via MOH homepage. This is our first encounter with PCR test. Our experience with the swab test was not too bad. Now we have to wait for results of the swab tests.

As I see it, we have to live with Covid-19 coronavirus spreading in the community. It is not going to be zero infection case. We may just be passing through or be at the place where a cluster is forming. Whether we get infected or not, swab test will be key. What we can do is to always be vigilant, wear a face mask, sanitise our hands before we take our food, limit social interactions as much as possible, and avoid crowded places. These are basic health hygiene.