COVID-19 cases may be rising, but Singapore must keep calm and move forward

THE train carriages were essentially deserted, which triggered childhood flashbacks. Empty train carriages meant drunks and muggers, an unwanted combination at the best of times. I once had my wallet taken by a drunken mugger in an East London park. True story. He saw three of me and demanded three wallets.

But I wasn’t in East London. I was in Singapore, waiting to leave Bishan MRT station, at 4.30pm on a Friday afternoon. There were fewer people at the station than when I experienced an IRA bomb scare in the 1990s (Also a true story. A suspicious bag had been left on a station bench in London. I was sitting on that bench. My legs moved almost as fast as my bowels.)

But the near-empty Bishan train was such a striking image that I did the responsible, Singaporean thing and recorded a video for Instagram. The public comments and explanations came quickly. Half of Singapore was in Japan. And the other half had COVID-19. One leads to a climate of isolation from the outside world. And the other is COVID-19.

Whoa, steady on there. Japan is Singapore’s No.1 holiday destination at this time of year. And what’s the second most popular vacation spot? Other parts of Japan.

Don’t worry. My flippancy extended to COVID-19, too. On social media, I made the rookie mistake of suggesting that a vaccinated nation had to live with the virus now. My feed was soon under attack with folks pointing out that a) Covid-19 wasn’t like any other virus, b) other, non-testing countries were being complacent and c) I hated Manchester United.

The last one had nothing to do with COVID-19, but I get a variation of that comment at least once a week so I included it here in the interests of accuracy.

Taking precautions and carrying on

In my defence, COVID-19 has never been dismissed or underestimated. My late step-father struggled with horrendous immunodeficiencies through the pandemic and was housebound for three years. He survived every wave, but died six months later of unrelated causes, giving a glorious middle finger to the pandemic right to the end.

And second, my first bout of the coronavirus was a consequence of visiting one of those complacent, non-testing countries in the summer of 2022. In Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace no less, I collapsed on a bench near the playwright’s house, lost in a delirious fever and listening to a bad street actor performing sonnets. I wasn’t sure what was going to wipe me out first, the virus or his Romeo and Juliet.

A week later, I tested negative on the morning of my flight back to Singapore, but only after a British pharmacist memorably said, “if you’re still positive on the plane, who’s gonna know?” Well, I would’ve known. I make a conscious effort not to venture along the path of assholes whenever temptation calls.

So there’s no COVID-19 complacency here, just a concerted effort to put one’s mental health first. Ideally, a life cannot be well lived in fear, or in isolation or behind a mask indefinitely.

But Singapore’s infection rates are peaking. In the first week of December, 32,035 people were diagnosed with COVID-19 – the highest 2023 total since March (28,410 cases). Hospitalisations are on the rise, too.

Still, the Ministry of Health has reiterated that the latest variants are not more transmissible and do not cause more severe disease. And the spike was always going to happen. Common viruses and respiratory illnesses move faster during the holiday season. People travel. Families gather. Vaccination immunity wanes. So get a booster and crack on with Christmas.

I can say that because I’m under 60 and do not have underlying health conditions, or live with anyone who has. Others cannot say the same and adopt a more conservative approach and that’s fine. Take whatever precautions are necessary for the family household and carry on. Be comforted by the knowledge that no matter how hysterical the headlines might become, we’re all in a better place now.

Don't obsess over the 'what-ifs'

For a start, we’re better informed. It feels like only yesterday that an American President was advising us to ingest bleach, confusing our internal organs for a stained coffee mug. Now we can read the MOH updates and get on with our day.

Or step away from the headlines. Recent COVID-19 stories may give the impression that the pandemic is making more comebacks than Tiger Woods. In terms of deaths and serious illness, it isn’t. But the hysterical fringe will catastrophise every headline and increase the sense of dread. Turn them off.

Last week, I was organising an overseas trip to visit my parents and reading Singapore’s infection rates at the same time. The juxtaposition was too much. So I went cycling along Sungei Serangoon, saw a monitor lizard with a neck like Dwayne Johnson and felt strangely invigorated.

The bike ride also avoided the “what-ifs”. This is vital. My wife is the queen of the “what-ifs”. COVID-19 has slowly burrowed its way through her workplace, leaving me to deal with questions like, “what if we all catch Covid, take it to England, pass it to our parents, who pass it to their elderly friends and relatives and we trigger a new wave across Europe?”

My wife is an introvert. She doesn’t enjoy touching me, let alone anyone else, but apparently, she’s going to kickstart a European virus to rival the Spanish Flu.

So maybe we focus on what we can control, rather than obsess over the “what-ifs”. We can avoid crowds, wear masks and do the things that might prevent a downward spiral in our mental well-being. We can make personal choices and leave others to do the same, without judgment.

Living with COVID-19 means being comfortable with COVID-19 and doing whatever it takes to suppress the anxiety and move forward, one tentative step at a time. The pace isn’t important, only the direction. We keep moving forward. We can never go back to those darkest of days, of feverish midsummer dreams and dodgy Shakespearean actors.

Neil Humphreys is an award-winning football writer and a best-selling author, who has covered the English Premier League since 2000 and has written 28 books.

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