Global Pandemic

2009 is a bad enough year with the global financial crisis... and now with the global pandemic coming up and creeping towards Asia, I cannot help but say that life is getting so miserable. Needless to say we will see all airlines crashing (I mean the stock value) and visitor arrivals and tourism revenue will bound to dip to the lowest of all levels. I foresee many more people cutting corners to save costs, be it the F&B industry, or whatever industry. Already my mee pok for $3 is not enough to fill a N.E.R.D's stomach, I am not sure with this crisis how pok the mee pok will be.

I wrote this while doing work in the office; which is something I do rarely. I get very depressed when I see the news everynight, and probably get a clenched jaw when I sleep at night because there is so much anxiety and angst after seeing the news.

So we were told today that WHO has raised it to level 5. I think HCWs at my workplace (or even admin staff) are all admirable people eventually, because I see it right in front of me the unity that we have exhibited, the eagnerness to pull this through together. However of course there are some who are scrutinising as to who is doing which shift for VSS - not because they want to ensure that duties are covered but that they want to make sure that everyone gets it). I of course do not think we should be heroes at this point in time - whenever advised please put on masks BUT we have to be discerning about using them as there is now a worldwide shortage.

Also I think it is unfair for people to name it "swine flu". I cannot imagine how many people in the pork industry will suffer - from farms to restaurants everyone will just have to shut their doors soon. And think about the repercussions... I wonder how can we pick up this mess after it has tailed down... I think we all pray everyday that this will subside, that it will mitigate. What all health administrators fear is that because only one in three victims do not show symptoms before the flu's onset, it is difficult to track and therefore a pandemic is imminent and hence we can only mitigate at its best. And that it will be more challenging than SARs. Therefore the importance of contact traceability is so very important, so please comply and write your names and contact numbers whenever you are required to at a public place.

As what ST has nicely put together a good column in today's headlines "What you need to know about swine flu", social responsibility has its utmost significance in a time like this. We need to wash our hands regularly, be careful when we sneeze and cough and wear a mask if you must go out when sick. I don't understand why train commuters who adhere to the rule of "Please move to the rear" get dirty looks from Ipod listeners when we have to "excuse me" and jostle to alight - I didn't choose to listen to Ipod, you were the one so please jolly well highten your situational awareness and look left, right and behind at every mrt stop. In my opinions, those who sneeze and cough right into the face should get dirty looks. These are the true culprits of spreading even normal flu around.

Hopefully with our vigilance we can mitigate this situation to a very high degree.