[QUOTE=Blanquiceleste;2425385]I really hope this thing settles down by April. For your sake and mine. 555. Sure, people in SG are trying hard to go about their normal lives the best they can. There is a deep sense of fear and concern writ large on everyone's face barely covered by a thin veneer of grit. Been through this sort of shit before back in 2004. Plenty of precautions. Almost every place will check your temperature and make you sign a declaration about your travel history. The Government has introduced a slew of rules and directives on people with travel history to China, including draconian ones like a Stay At Home order, where you have to rely on someone else to even bring you food and basic necessities. Restaurants, gyms, movie theaters, malls, parks and any other places of public gathering are practically empty. Nearly everyone on the MRT or buses wears a mask. Call it paranoia, but I am happy with paranoia if that keeps me alive. I will take paranoia over dick-swinging like the Cambodian Premiere going out to greet people who disembarked from the cruise ship. Completely irresponsible action. Now one of the American tourists who was aboard that cruise and disembarked at Snooky was tested positive in Malaysia while she was making her way back to the States.
My issue is countries in SEA don't understand how far up shitcreek there are in, and I hope it isn't too late before they realize it.
Amen to that! Stay safe.[/QUOTE]OK. Let me chime in. Working in health care for many years in SE Asia has taught me some things. Asian people are always afraid of dying. This is why they pack the hospitals in Singapore, vietnam, philippines, etc. For minor illness that people in the western world take care of at home. Vomit once or twice. They go to the hospital. Sniffles and sneezes, got to see the doctor. For example, in VN, a physician sees a patient every 4 minutes, in Singapore not much different (maybe every 6 minutes) and they always expect to get a prescription. We would go crazy if a doctor saw us in the western world for 4 minutes. And the doctors know this is not good.
This is one reason why antibiotic resistance is so high. Big misuse of these drugs (and buying them without a prescription in VN). Unfortunately, there is little way to change this culture. I'm not playing down the seriousness of Corona virus, but life has to go on.
I've attached a pic sent to me today by a friend in SG. Taken on the SG MRT. If this woman wears this get up (cloth mask which is totally ineffective) on the MRT, what do you think she makes a guy wear for sex (I'm guessing at least 2 condoms but could be more). Note, a lot of people don't have masks on. I'm bringing some 55 gallon drum clear bags to hand out with me.
I'm off to SG in a week, then to VN. But having lived in the medical world where we practice universal precautions, I will implement these personally, stay out of large crowds, wash hands or use hand santizer and yep, I do have masks to wear although they offer limited protection according to the CDC.
GG.
