Wuhan coronavirus Dorscon level changed to Orange in Singapore and everybody loses their minds.
The last weekend was an eye-opening one. Not just because everyone went crazy and started sweeping things off the shelf but because the incident has shown me the true colours of people in Singapore.
The good thing is it that it isn't just the bad and ugly but also the good. It all started on Friday evening when the Wuhan coronoavirus Dorscon level changed to Orange.
"Oh changed to orange? Okay lah. life goes on. Just continue to eat lor." - me
"Still on hur? Ok. See you guys later." - my friend.
And then the rest was history. Social media started blowing up with images of people running around buying things.
"It will be over by tomorrow morning lah. Singaporeans very short attention span." I said. But I was wrong. Things carried on and I was a little annoyed and I posted this on my personal Facebook.
I was having dinner with my friends casually yesterday and chilling. Well, it was TGIF after all.
To my horror when I checked my phone at the end of the dinner, my phone was flooded with images of people snatching items from the various supermarkets.
"Guys, chill.
1. We are fighting a virus and when the dorscon shifted from yellow to orange yesterday, it is asking you guys to beware of the virus. Wash your hands, avoid crowds, and maybe even take your temperature. NOT TO STOCK UP FOOD.
2. This is not zombie apocalypse nor fighting a war. You do not need to stock up food. There is no lack of food, and that is not your main enemy now. Stupidity is as it seems.
3. Various supermarkets are already restocking. This mass panic buy is causing a lot of stress for these workers. Not only are they working double hard, I've heard people abusing and scolding staff. Guys, we are better than this. They do not owe us a living. They can jolly well walk away and not work but they did not abandon the community. So instead, why is the community abandoning them? They are only workers and doing their part.
4. Singapore, we can do this together and only if we do it together. By doing all these mass buying and keeping it in your own storeroom, it is an act of selfishness. Please, Singapore is more educated and better than this.
5. What you guys are doing now is simply breaking the system for ourselves even before anything happens. And when things go sideways, many will probably blame the government once again. But remember this, they have a system in place. You were the one who broke it.
6. I saw someone saying this yesterday, "Why tell Singaporeans about the dorscon? This kind of information only scares people. Tell them for what? They also do not know any better." See this is how difficult we are as an individual isn't it? Don't tell you information, you complain that the government is not transparent and Singapore is a nanny state. Tell you all things, you guys say the government is not strategic and scare the citizens. What can they gain from scaring citizens? So how? To tell or not to tell?
End of the day, think of the bigger picture, life should go on as per normal. Don't overdo it. This is not the time to do all these.
If you are reading this message, you are a friend and I hope you are not one of those crazy mass buyers.
If you are reading this message, you are a friend and I hope you can tell others and educate them not to be silly.
If you are reading this message, you are a friend and I hope you share this message."
The post above has gotten over 5,000 shares at this point when I am crafting this reflection post.
While there were a handful of people who defended their honour and action, most of the people who shared the post shared the same sentiment. I went through each and every one of the comments on the post as well as those on the shares. I was surprised I felt a little touched reading all these comments. They truly touch my heart to know that there are like-minded people out there who would put community first. Of course, I am not saying that I am the only person out there. I am just, well, touched.
Sorry, I am unable to share all the screenshots but here are some of those that I kinda really like!
Goes without saying, when there is ying, there will be yang. I have also gotten some people going at me scolding me or nitpicking on the image or my messages. Well, I have been writing this blog and have been a very public person online for many years now and this ain't exactly the 1st time I get a little heat online. So it's really nothing. You guys really got nothing on me you know?
At the same time, there were a few other posts that I would like to share too.
The lawyer/ rice importer has spoken
"Broadly speaking, at any one time, there is at least a two-month supply of most types of rice in Singapore. Several top rice exporting countries in the world, such as Thailand and Vietnam, are not too far away from Singapore geographically, and fresh rice stock from these exporting countries will typically reach our shores within 3 to 5 days of the cargo ship sailing."
This man explains why we can calm our titties because we have plenty of rice stocked up. Chill okay? Source.
The dude that tells you that national-level decision is above our pay grade. TRUST THE SYSTEM.
"Ask yourself honestly: who else can you trust, in times like this, to lead us out of this crisis? Yes, like any other governments out there, our government is not perfect. But they are our best shot in leading this fight and winning this war. If the virus is creating FEAR, the only way to overcome it is to have FAITH in the systems and protocols put in place by the government. Not creating more fear and discord among people with baseless and senseless comments."
And to summarize his message, "Remember, the enemy is the virus, not the government." Claps! #Respect. Source.
Singapore Psychological Society explains why do people react the way they do.
The amygdala of the brain (emotional system) gets activated together with regions of the cortex (cognitive system) that analyze and interpret behavior. In times of stress and uncertainty, this thinking part of our brain gets hijacked by the emotional system, resulting in 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰 and 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿.
A pretty good post telling why the whys and also what should we do at times like these. Source.
“Shy random person” tells a father-mother-son-daughter story that makes me tear a little
“We really need to behave like what we say. Cos really, somebody’s father, mother, son, daughter is out there somewhere doing what we are not.” “We are beyond 4 masks. Beyond sanitisers.”
Whoever this shy guy is. His instastories did strike a chord with me. I was tearing a little at the end of the post. Source.
Minister Ng Chee Meng telling Singaporeans we are not empty-UC
"Some people have jokingly renamed our supermarket chain to Empty-UC FairPrice, rest assured we are still NTUC FairPrice and our warehouses are far from empty!" #SGCares #LMCares
Don't play play okay? Mr Ng Chee Meng got picture got talk. LOL. It's really quite amazing how NTUC managed to turn around for this man-made crisis we went through. The touching thing is that not only did the staff not abandon the community and brave through tough times. Many of the office staff including those from the unions and my colleagues actually gave up their weekend and went to the frontline and gave their support. I am still feeling the chills while typing this.
S’porean man explains strain on supermarket staff caused by mass buying & urges people to stop
So mothership featured this guy talking about the strain on supermarket staff.. Wait.. That's me. :p
----
Things are better now
Good news is by the end of Saturday, things were pretty much back to normal and I posted this yesterday on my Facebook.
It seems like everything is back to normal despite it being a Sunday morning where I assume not every company does delivery. Not fully stocked up yet but you can tell that it isn't as bad as it was just a night ago.
These pictures were taken mins ago at the giant supermarket near my house. The cashier was telling me that Friday night was a nightmare. The queue extended out of the unit for almost a good 3 to 4 hrs and everyone was grouchy and impatient.
While we saw the ugly side of Singapore, we also saw a lot of rational Singaporeans too. I also saw the brotherhood in my own organisation where office staff volunteered their weekend to help out on the ground. (i also volunteered okay, but a bit late, things were already back on track when I got the notice.) I saw how some of my friends were texting each other in group chat to keep calm, don't mass buy and if need anything they can pass some around first as well. And of course, all the kind people who decided to share my article and educate their friends.
The bigger lesson out of this is that we need to keep calm. Other countries were laughing at us. It's not just a matter of face but we showed vulnerability. When we are weak, we put ourselves in a bad position for negotiation. Because we have high demand, it will become a good chance for importers to mark up prices when doing business with us. Why put ourselves in such position where we have to overpay for anything that we are not even desperate for?
Like when playing poker, always look confident even if you only have a high card. Haha.
It's Sunday, let us enjoy what is left of our weekend with our family. Remember to wash your hands. Stay Safe Singapore. #maytheforcebewithyou
So guys, stay safe, stay clean, stay strong. We just need to do this together.
P.S. CAN'T TOUCH THIS (FACE)!
3 comments:
In response to the changing circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the coronavirus DORSCON level has been updated to orange. During these challenging times, it is crucial for businesses to adapt and communicate effectively. A full service digital agency can play a vital role in assisting organizations in navigating this situation by providing comprehensive digital solutions. From crafting impactful communication strategies to implementing robust online platforms and campaigns, a full-service digital agency can help businesses stay connected, informed, and resilient in the face of the evolving coronavirus situation.
Great read thank yoou
Post a Comment