Media and authorities in S’pore should change the narrative on COVID-19 situation

by Christine Lee

I am a Singapore citizen residing in Singapore.

In light of the recent partial lockdown due to a rise in COVID-19 clusters and unlinked cases, I would like to bring to attention the message communicated to the general public from both the media and authorities in Singapore.

It should not surprise anyone that all of us are feeling both the physical and mental fatigue brought about by the pandemic and the measures taken to curb the spread.

The current narrative of Singapore’s’ stance on dealing with the pandemic domestically carries a negative-to-neutral tone, which although consist of repeated reassurances, falls flat when it comes to lifting spirits in the people of this country.

Besides taking a defensive approach to address issues as they come along, the media and authorities should create a sense of optimism by placing more attention on achieving herd immunity by the end of this year, which I believe is highly feasible as long as enough vaccines are available to go into arms.

Furthermore, there should be an active push nationwide to encourage everyone to take a vaccine shot, just like in America.

By tweaking the narrative to focus on how herd immunity in Singapore can look like with the majority of the population getting vaccinated, conversations in communities can shift away from wondering what comes next to full anticipation of normalcy in society – reducing stress, tension, and anxiety in the process among the general population.

With the end goal in view, Singaporeans can become more hopeful and cooperative, leading to smoother vaccine rollout plans and eager vaccination sign-ups.

Hope this pragmatic view on changing the narrative of dealing with COVID-19 makes sense.