Takeaways from the pandemic

MY HEART skipped a beat when I caught sight of the familiar red- and white-striped tentage. 

“Pasar Malam!” I shrieked in my mind – or was it out loud – and quickly alighted the bus, ready to suss out my favourite snacks.

I can easily explain my exuberance – after all, Covid has meant more than two years of lacklustre social activities.

But anticipation soon gave way to agitation when I found myself being pressed in within the crowd. It may have been “a mere shock to the system”, as the husband put it, but the jostling took the shine off the long-awaited moment. 

Yes, I admit – the long halt to such events allowed me to build anticipation around what to expect when “normality” resumed. And when it finally did, normal was so anti-climactic. 

Ruminating on what seemed like an inconsequential incident, I asked myself: “Despite the havoc that the pandemic unleashed, what habits or lifestyle choices have we formed over the past two years that we should still keep?”

Keeping your distance

The first thing that came to mind was personal space. 

Now that maneuvering a crowd is back in style, I must admit I miss being able to swing my hands freely in the mall without having to worry about smacking someone in the face – or (more likely in my case) the torso. 

And I am not imagining this. Samuel Chng, who heads the Urban Psychology Lab in the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, says: “Having personal space around us provides us with a psychological sense of security.” 

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Asked about the magic number, he adds that our sense of personal space varies according to our surroundings, and our concept of it has also evolved with the seemingly ever-changing pandemic safe management regulations. 

“However, studies have shown that our physical personal space is circular and about 1 metre, with some variations between gender,” he says.

It is no wonder that paradoxically, I was more at ease at times during the Circuit Breaker period. 

Keeping the mask

Up next – mask on when unwell.

Wearing one is a simple action we can take to protect those who may be vulnerable. 

General practitioner Esmond Tay, who saw almost 100 patients with Covid-like symptoms a day at the peak of the pandemic, says: “Although cumbersome, wearing a mask can minimise the transmission of droplet-borne virus to people around you.”

So please be civic-minded, period.

Having the flexibility

And throughout this time, who can forget “work from home”? 

What I initially thought would be a two-week hiatus from office stretched to more than two years.

Articles on WFH are innumerable but one cannot deny that the initial struggles were real. 

From going fully digital at breakneck speed and setting up a home office, to getting used to new “colleagues” (who may include some of the furry variety), there were a lot of adaptations needed for both employers and employees. 

However, through this ordeal, I believe that most of us have proven capable of being entrusted to work remotely if needed, and employers can sleep soundly knowing they have the software and contingency plans in place should another such crisis strike. 

Of course, having the option to work from either location is a boon as well.

Special inner circle

Lastly, remember those days when our group sizes had to be limited to five? 

As someone put it aptly - sorry to the sixth friend, but if I did not see the need to meet you these two years, you are probably someone I can do without in my life.

Harsh words, but true. And it is times like these that force us to filter out the people (and things) that matter and don’t – like a purge on social media. 

I gave a happy dance as I bite into the tapioca snack I picked up at the pasar malam, but I don’t think I will be too eager to give it another visit anytime soon.