Chinese New Year celebrations in pandemic times: Chance to hone virtues like patience, endurance

WITH the continued 5-person cap on social gatherings, this Chinese New Year is set to be relatively subdued. This is in comparison not just to the distant pre-pandemic times, but even to last year's festive season, when groups of up to 8 persons were allowed - a luxury that Singapore has not had for 9 months and counting.

Despite understandable pandemic fatigue, self-restraint and personal responsibility remain key, particularly as the Omicron wave has yet to crest.

Current Covid-19 measures specify a 5-person cap on both social gathering sizes and daily unique household visitors, with visitors meant to "preferably limit themselves to 1 visit a day" according to Ministry of Health (MOH) guidelines. This makes it impossible to have the traditional reunion dinners with extended families and multiple rounds of visiting that usually characterise the festival.