Extension of Lockdown

This is the third week of the lockdown in Singapore. To date, there are now 11,178 cases of Coronavirus infections in Singapore - 924 of these have recovered, and there are 26 critical cases. There is a slight consolation that only 12 have died from the virus. They were seniors who had pre-existing health conditions.

This has not been an easy time for everyone. I thought we were making progress in controlling the spread of the virus, but it seems like we have not yet succeeded. There has been a spike in the number of cases – this time in the foreign workers’ dormitories.

The local cases might have plateaued, but there are still cases that are unlinked – meaning, it is not sure how these people got infected. This also suggest that there are still asymptomatic carriers in the community. In view of this, the government has extended the lockdown for another month. Now, the lockdown will end on the 1st of June instead of the 4th of May.

If the last two weeks have been tough on everyone, the next six weeks or so, will be tougher. However, the measures are necessary, otherwise, all our efforts in containing the virus from day one would be wasted. We have to get the infections down, at all cost. Maybe, if the measures are successful, the authorities will consider slowly easing up on the lockdown instead of waiting until the 1st of June. We shall see.

Luckily, the clusters in the dorms have remained largely contained, and have not spread to the wider community. The authorities are now testing all the workers in the dormitories. That is why the jump in numbers. Of those who tested positive for the coronavirus, most of the cases are mild, and very few need intensive care. Some do not show any symptoms at all.

In the wider community, the lockdown, or as we call it, the circuit breaker, (because certain business are allowed to remain open, and people are allowed to go out for walks), is starting to have an effect. The number of community cases have remained stable in recent days.

It is going to take a while for the virus to go away. I believe the pandemic is in its early stages yet. Although some countries have managed to contain the virus in the initial stage, they have remained vigilant. A slip in measures will cause all previous efforts to go to waste, and they will have to start another round of lockdown again. I don’t think there are many countries that can survive a second round of lockdown.

This has indeed been a very difficult time for everyone. We are all stressed – physically, mentally, emotionally, economically etc… Still, we have to play our parts, and help to overcome the present situation. We have to hunker down, and hang on a bit more, before life can return to some sort of normalcy.

Meanwhile here are some Coronavirus related memes/funnies. Have a laugh. It will lighten your mood. These memes are not mine. Where possible, I have sourced them.

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