Life in Singapore in 2020
This is home - the Siglap neighborhood in East Coast, Singapore! We feel so lucky that we found this condo and it has very quickly become home.
We moved in when I was 20 weeks pregnant and realized there were two newborn babies in the 24 unit complex. Since Charlie's birth, 3 more babies have joined us! I have daydreams of being here for a few more years and seeing all these littles ones run around the condo grounds. We have fallen into such an amazing SG family.
Singapore is a little island in Southeast Asia, known as the Little Red Dot. It is a bit of a utopia - it is super clean, super safe, covered in palm trees and sunny most days. There are definitely times when I have to pinch myself that this is real life. Singapore is mostly jungle and is home to some crazy wildlife, including about 5.5 million people. We have everything here - beaches, urban hiking, jungle, city center, restaurants, playgrounds, theaters, museums and so much more. During normal times, Singapore's Changi airport is a bustling hub offering amazing amenities for people visiting or just transiting through.
Life in Singapore is feeling pretty normal lately but it’s been a wild Covid ride since January.
Singapore had its first imported case on January 20th from Wuhan, China (it was confirmed Jan. 23). We knew almost nothing about the virus at that point and I was scared. We had been at the airport earlier that day picking up my aunt from a flight from Bali. On January 31st, Singapore closed its border to China and anyone who had traveled there within 14 days.
Singapore moved to DORSCON (Disease Outbreak Response System Condition) Orange on Friday, February 7th after our first community spread from a Chinese tour group. This scale was created after the SARS outbreak in 2003 and refined in 2009 after Swine Flu. This was the first time we experienced panic buying and life felt affected. I was seriously considering getting on a plane and flying to the US to wait it all out.
The next week, my sister and her family cancelled their flights to Singapore because their office and daycare said they would have to work from home for 2 weeks when they got back to Atlanta. At the time, that felt like an impossible reality.
In early March, it was obvious we made the right decision staying in Singapore despite our cases per day entering double digits. On March 3rd, Singapore announced that travelers from Iran, Northern Italy and South Korea would not be allowed to enter or transit through Singapore.
The cases in Europe, the US and other Asian countries were starting to spike. On March 15th, Singapore announced that travelers from ASEAN countries, Japan, Switzerland or the UK would not be allowed to enter or transit through Singapore.
We decided to self-isolate on March 19th.
March 22nd, all short-term pass holders were barred from entering Singapore. The border was officially closed to anyone who wasn't a citizen or permanent resident. We're employment and dependent pass holders, so this meant that if we left Singapore, we wouldn't be allowed to re-enter…
The third week in March, just after we decided to self isolate, is when things really kicked off in Singapore. The first two deaths were reported on March 21st and the third on March 29th. In this week, imported cases spiked as Singaporeans abroad rushed home before the mandatory stay at home notices (SHN). There were some mandatory SHN from certain countries already but not all. This is what scared us into staying home.
We knew Singapore was serious about its response but this is when it became very evident. On March 21st, MOM (the Ministry of Manpower) revoked 89 work passes from people who breached their stay home notices. MOM was doing spot checks on people - FaceTiming at random times to make sure the people were at home and even showing up at their doorstep.
For reference - on March 10th, 7 weeks after our first confirmed case, we only had 160 cases in Singapore. By April 1st, we had 1,000. Testing was proactive, readily available and wide spread. Contact tracing had been the norm since the beginning. This is around the time that two clusters of Covid popped up in foreign worker dormitories. With cramped quarters and not the best conditions, we were in for a quick spread through thousands and thousands of foreign workers.
On April 3rd, the Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, announced what would be known as "Circuit Breaker" on April 7th - our full lockdown.
Schools would be closed, only essential business would be open and masks must be worn at all times when leaving the home. A new "scan in, scan out" system is put in place at every essential business. You have to use your phone to scan a QR code at entry and exit or have your ID scanned. Your temperature is also taken upon entry.
Within a few days of Circuit Breaker beginning, stories of harsh warnings being given out for people breaking the rules circulated. We thought this was the hardest part of it all, but we were wrong...
Our circuit breaker period was supposed to last from April 7th to May 4th. Manageable, right?
On April 12th, it was announced that there would be no more verbal warnings for offenders breaking the rules under circuit breaker. Instead of a warning, you would be issued a S$300 fine.
On April 21st, Prime Minister Lee announced that our circuit breaker period would be extended from May 4th to June 1st and the restrictions between April 21st and May 4th would be stricter.
FaceTime play dates, game nights and happy hours became an outlet for socializing.
Only one member of the house was allowed out of the house at a time, including children. This meant we couldn't go out for a family walk at the end of the day and we were basically home bound all the time.
The penalties became stricter. Stories circulated in the expat groups about work passes being revoked. When a work pass was revoked, families had to leave Singapore immediately, the employee would not be allowed to re-enter Singapore and the employers were penalized as well.
During this time, things started opening back up in the US. My social media feeds were filled with people seeing family members and social distanced BBQs. It was hard. In Singapore, it was against the law for families to meet up. You could not see or socialize with anyone without the fear of being deported.
On June 1st, we entered Phase 1 and our total cases were just over 22,000.
I've been trying to find exact numbers but the VAST majority of those cases (likely 90-95% of them) were from the foreign worker dormitories with minimal community cases. Singapore was still proactively testing, contact tracing and doing all the right things.
Phase 1 didn't change anything for us, which was hard. All it meant was grandparents could visit their kids and grandkids legally (only 2 visitors at a time). Some people could return to work after applying to MOM and having their role deemed essential for office work.
Finally, on June 16th it was announced that Phase 2 would begin on Friday, June 19th…
Phase 2 started and it felt like a weight was lifted. We could legally see friends! We could legally grab a coffee! We could legally invite someone over! We could sit down at a park or beach! Playgrounds opened!
The simplest things that we once took for granted were allowed.
Cases were still going up daily but not so much in the community. Every single measure was still in place - scan in/scan out, temperature checks, masks on outside, safe distancing - but we had the freedom to socialize and feel normal.
So what exactly did Phase 2 allow? There are still rules because this is Singapore.
We can have up to 5 visitors (children included) to our home. This meant playdates were back on!
We can be outside in groups of 5 (kids included) but cannot socialize with other groups.
We can eat in a restaurant (after scanning in and getting our temp checked) with a group of no larger than 5. No talking to other tables. Masks on if you get up from your table.
Retail, restaurants, playgrounds, beaches, fields, gyms, fitness studios and function rooms opened with restrictions.
People could go back to work but with very strict measures in place. Nick is still at home.
This freedom has been amazing. Singapore is on top of contact tracing that we truly feel safe when we are out and about. There is no guessing if we were in contact with a positive case a while at the beach. The government would been in touch and we would be in quarantine. We can actually relax a bit and enjoy others company, at a distance.
This isn't to say everything is rosy. There was a story that circulated over the summer about an expat couple who invited 3 other couples over for dinner. That's 6 extra people. A guard called the police and they showed up at the door. The hosts were deported. The 3 other couples were fined S$10,000 per person.
So what is our reality now as we near the end of 2020?
We're a bit stuck.
As American citizens, we can get on a plane at any time and get back to the US. It's getting back into Singapore that's an issue. Nick is an Employee Pass Holder (EP) and Charlie and I are Dependent Pass Holders (DP). Singapore's border is closed to everyone except Singaporean citizens and Permanent Residents, unless you get special approval from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
We personally know four families who were deeply affected by this throughout Circuit Breaker. For two of the families, the husbands got stuck outside of Singapore when the borders closed in March. For the other two, the entire family got stuck in the UK while on holiday. All of them were stuck outside of their home (Singapore) from mid-March until phase 2 began in June. Their employers had to submit request after request to MOM asking for approval to re-enter Singapore, often once of twice a week for months. Denied, denied, denied.
Once they were finally approved in June, they had to book flights in Singapore within a specified time. Upon arrival at Changi Airport, they were escorted straight to a hotel for a two-week quarantine - no leaving the room for 14 days.
So while we could technically get home to see family, it's just not worth the risk. Most employers won't file paperwork on your behalf if you leave at this point. Even if they did, we could be denied. If Nick got stuck outside of the country for more than 90 days, his EP would be canceled and he'd lose his job. If just Charlie and I went back to the US, we could face being separated from Nick for god knows how long.
We're hopeful things will change soon but for now we'll just hang with the pandas.
