A waitress tells me her restaurant is doing so badly that the boss is encouraging staff to take leave. A cabbie told me he has been roaming the streets with the vehicle empty as “everyone is not going out.” It doesn’t help that one of the confirmed cases of the coronavirus was a taxi driver. A property agent friend tells me the market has been quiet as the rich Chinese nationals are kept away for now. At least 25 countries have infected cases and about 60,000 have caught the virus in China alone. The director of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects the spread to continue beyond 2020, according to a CNN report. It seems like this could be the way of life for the time being. Temperature checks from hospitals to shopping malls, a ban of parents to enter education centers to avoid overcrowding and the rush for toilet paper purchases at supermarkets- these little inconveniences could be here to stay. If there’s any silver lining, it is how everyone has been united behind the cause. At Study Room, parents have been understanding when we impose the no-parent rule. Some even message to ask how they can help, volunteering to take temperatures for us. Through this saga, everyone is starting to adopt more hygienic practices. Our students automatically head to the sink to wash their hands with soap; people who are ill choose to stay indoors and wear masks. It is also a great chance for education- I took the chance to repeatedly remind friends and family who forward me unverified messages about the virus to stop spreading rumors. The current situation is not ideal, but let’s take solace in the small gains. Remember not to avoid a normal life completely. Life has to go on. We just need to be more careful and wash our hands more often. Remember to show compassion to those in the frontline. Without them, we would not be able to fight the virus. Remember to play our part, be it volunteer at food shelters as they lack helpers now or simply not maliciously selling masks at a profit or hoarding instant noodles. We had gone through SARs. We can go through this. Be patient and there will be light at the end of the tunnel. (Photo credit: Wallace’s son Wes) #sgunited #coronavírus

A waitress tells me her restaurant is doing so badly that the boss is encouraging staff to take leave.

A cabbie told me he has been roaming the streets with the vehicle empty as “everyone is not going out.” It doesn’t help that one of the confirmed cases of the coronavirus was a taxi driver.

A property agent friend tells me the market has been quiet as the rich Chinese nationals are kept away for now.

At least 25 countries have infected cases and about 60,000 have caught the virus in China alone. The director of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects the spread to continue beyond 2020, according to a CNN report. It seems like this could be the way of life for the time being.

Temperature checks from hospitals to shopping malls, a ban of parents to enter education centers to avoid overcrowding and the rush for toilet paper purchases at supermarkets- these little inconveniences could be here to stay.

If there’s any silver lining, it is how everyone has been united behind the cause. At Study Room, parents have been understanding when we impose the no-parent rule. Some even message to ask how they can help, volunteering to take temperatures for us. Through this saga, everyone is starting to adopt more hygienic practices. Our students automatically head to the sink to wash their hands with soap; people who are ill choose to stay indoors and wear masks. It is also a great chance for education- I took the chance to repeatedly remind friends and family who forward me unverified messages about the virus to stop spreading rumors.

The current situation is not ideal, but let’s take solace in the small gains.

Remember not to avoid a normal life completely. Life has to go on. We just need to be more careful and wash our hands more often.

Remember to show compassion to those in the frontline. Without them, we would not be able to fight the virus.

Remember to play our part, be it volunteer at food shelters as they lack helpers now or simply not maliciously selling masks at a profit or hoarding instant noodles.

We had gone through SARs. We can go through this.

Be patient and there will be light at the end of the tunnel. (Photo credit: Wallace’s son Wes) #sgunited #coronavírus from Study Room https://ift.tt/38rcaKn