Many are disappointed with the spike in numbers of COVID-19 cases today. Things seem to get worsen with the announcement from our government that we are entering Phase 2(Heightened Alert) where dining-in is not allowed. F&B businesses are taking another huge hit. Are we entering another Circuit Breaker again? What has gone wrong in Singapore?
This virus spreads wild like fire and other countries have also been heavily impacted by COVID-19, experiencing waves after waves of the virus. It’s no surprise that we will be experiencing another COVID-19 wave because the virus is still prevalent in other parts of the world.
Are we experiencing disappointment because of our high expectations we have of our country who seems to be performing better than everyone else in the region? Could there be a pressure on us to always be the first in the race? Now, what went wrong?
Singapore is entering Phase 2 on 22 July 2021
With the spike in KTV and Jurong Fishery Port clusters, we are now back to Phase 2 where no dining-in is allowed. This is probably our third COVID-19 wave as this virus continues to dominate over the world. It seems that every time we are close to declare our nation is COVID-free with other countries singing praises of our efficiency in handling this crisis, the virus would strike back at us again at our Achilles’ heel. And this time, even harder.
We need to help the authorities
While we go about swearing and cursing those KTV go-ers, it is also good to take a step back to think if we are also letting our guards down and being too reliant on the authorities to keep us safe from the virus. While most of us are compliant and abide to the stricter measures, we could perhaps keep a lookout for each other and report to the authorities if you find that something is amiss. I am pretty sure that there are people who knew that some of the KTV businesses are running illegally or flouting the government measures.
Coping with the ever-changing measures
The measures keep changing in Singapore and it maybe somewhat confusing for some of us. From 5-pax dine-in rule to 2-pax dine-in rule and now back to no dine-in rule, it can be very confusing especially for the elderly who might not be media-savvy and are unaware of the sudden change in measures. People may feel frustrated with the constant change of measures. I’ve seen people getting frustrated when they are asked to leave the F&B outlet as one of them in the group is not vaccinated. It’s not easy for us to cope with the sudden change in measures and neither it is for our government leaders.
Now, put yourself in the shoes of the government bodies and authorities, isn’t it worse to be in their position? They are probably making really tough decisions from a day-to-day basis as they weigh all options in order to protect the nation. I believe that the relevant authorities are probably working day and night, even today which is supposedly a Public Holiday for all.
Let’s bring back the Kampong Spirit in Phase 2.
Let’s not be selfish. In this crisis, we mustn’t just think for ourselves. During this difficult period, we’ve witnessed how Singaporeans are helping out with one another. Be it supporting local or hawker businesses, everyone here is playing their part to help one another. This is unlike any physical war Singapore has gone through. It’s literally a intangible fight that affects us not only physically but mentally.
Thus being kind and understanding towards each other is necessary during this difficult period in order to be out of Phase 2 as quickly as possible. We shouldn’t be expecting the government to make Singapore a shining example of how we cope with the virus successfully. Instead, we should demonstrate to the rest of the world how united we are in fighting COVID together.
We did it before, we’ll do it again.
