The corona virus was first detected in Wuhan, China in Dec 2019 and spread rapidly to many countries. With the first imported case and growing number of cases, the Singapore Government announced its Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) yellow alert and our city was locked down from 7 Apr 2020 to 1 Jun 2020 in an attempt to prevent the spread of the virus fondly known as the circuit breaker lockdown measures
Suddenly, snaking queues at supermarkets to stock up supplies. Perked up demand for laptops and accessories as offices closed with employees working from home. Homes wired up with laptops and Netflix. Once busy shopping malls were deserted. Popular eating outlets were empty. Streets and housing estates mirrored ghost towns.
The unthinkable idea of allowing staff to work from home (WFH) became an overnight reality. Plans to ditch the PC and desk phones were forcibly brought forward. The WFH arrangement was an enhancement to the green plan with drastically reduced paper output and reduced demand for office spaces and landlines which were great savings for companies.
New work tools such as TEAMS and ZOOM became the mainstay of communication amongst staff during the pandemic. Online courses also became popular. Those not so IT savvy and versatile suddenly faced with great challenges at work. Sadly, some even lost their jobs.
With the lockdown spread over a 3 year period, movements and activities were larger curbed and restricted. We will never forgot these 3 years of the pandemic as we remember these restrictions with fond and fun memories and collectibles of masks, distancing, vaccinations, stickers, tokens and ART and PET tests.
MASKS
It was compulsory to wear masks. But there were some breaches. Some thought they were sovereign. Others pushed the boundaries. Remember the infamous batch lady? Jail terms and fines. Has common sense and wisdom been lost?
SAFE DISTANCING
Safe distancing of 1 meter apart was marked out by foot stickers on the floor and crosses on seats so that people kept to a safe distance to avoid transmitting the infectious virus.
VACCINATIONS
Like the have and have nots, these vaccination-differentiated safe management measures (VDS) also divided the country into 2 segments; those with 2 vaccinations and a booster are considered as fully vaccinated which allowed them to enter enclosed spaces including offices and malls, participate in selected activities and events. Others who chose not to be vaccinated for whatever reasons were left out. Definitely causing divisions
VISITOR STICKERS
Humans are innovative. In difficult circumstances, brainstorms worked. Many places especially hospitals and malls introduced the stickers to control the entries and exits of visitors. We will never forget the poster walls outside the exits to collect the used stickers. Sometimes, they litter the ground with too many stickers not holding up.
TRACE TOGETHER TOKENS
Trace together token is a physical device that aids contact tracing efforts and designed for those who may not own or prefer not to use a mobile phone.
There were the Antigen Rapid Test (ART) and the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test to detect the presence of the covid virus. When there are 2 lines appearing, you are tested Covid positive or C+ for short.
It was a very difficult time for many with massive restrictions on movements. But we endured and persevered through the various waves of covid notably alpha variant (2020), delta variant (2021) and omicron variant (2022) waves and emerged more resilient and stronger.
We sighed great relief when the government announced the stepping down of DORSCON from orange to yellow on 26 Apr 2022 which generally meant that life can go on as normal, a new normal that is.
alexjoshua
4 Jun 2024
