We had lunch in a neighborhood shopping mall on Saturday.
Although the carpark was already full before 1 p.m., we were surprised too see that there were no queue in front of the restaurants. In fact, the traffic in the shopping mall was just like any non-peak hour on a normal weekday.
Where are the rest of the shoppers?
While waiting for the food, I went down to the basement floor to grab something.
Wow, what a sight! There was a long queue in front of the NTUC Unity pharmacy shop with no end in sight. It had at least three to four layers going in circles, blocking the entrance of a few shops next to it.
People were lining up to buy the N95 face masks to fight against the haze. The evening news the day before showed people queuing up from the wee hours of the morning to buy them. Experts in the interviews confirmed the superiority of N95 over surgical masks. There were rumors that the masks were out of stock everywhere in Singapore. That created a frantic crowd desperately combing the island to find the N95 masks.
People were calling others with their cellphone to check the queue at different outlets. Some were eating their takeaway lunch in the queue. Many asked their domestic helpers to line up on their behalf.
However, none of them looked like having a job that need to stay outdoors most of the time.
A staff member suddenly told everyone that all N95 face masks were sold out. He asked the people in the queue to leave. But no one had any intention to do so.
If this haze really lasts for weeks, as told by our Prime Minister, then it can’t be more timely to hold an election right now. Instead of distributing cash, the PAP can consider giving away N95 face masks to each citizen. Afterall, you win the heart of the voters by giving them exactly what they want in the right way at the right time.
When we left the mall at 2 p.m., the sky had cleared up and visibility had been greatly improved. The 3-hour PSI dropped from over 300 in the morning to 178.
Why are the people still queuing?
In fact, for the rest of the day, the 3-hour PSI keeps staying in the moderate range of 73 to 90. The air has not been so clean for days.
I guess people end up falling sick not because of the haze, but for the tormenting task of waking up early on a Saturday morning, traveling in the midst of heavy haze to a pharmacy, and lining up with a big crowd for hours.
It reminds me of buyers rushing to a sales office to snap up units during a new launch. They see the dazzling advertisements on TV and newspaper. They receive the special VIP invitation from their property agent. They are convinced that the chance is now or never.
It doesn’t matter whether the units are reasonably priced. Nobody has time to verify whether it is really a good location. And who cares about the layout and quality? Everyone else is buying anyway. This is what is offering in the market. There is no choice but to buy now.
The people in the showflats do not look like they are homeless, or so desperate that they don’t have any alternative. But they just don’t want to leave the sales office without booking a unit.
Similarly, the people queuing in front of the pharmacy were reassured that stock would be replenished in one or two days. But their persistence in lining up for hours showed that they couldn’t survive without a N95 mask over the weekend.
The haze is a wake-up call that reminds Singaporeans how vulnerable we are as a nation, and how helpless we are at the mercy of our neighboring countries.
The crowd at the showflats is a demonstration that proves how important upgrading to a condominium is in the Singapore dream, and how receptive we are with anything offered by the developers.
Perhaps when people leave the shopping mall, with a pack of N95 masks in their hands, they are relieved that they have finally accomplished the mission of the day. Whether they still need a mask for the rest of the day (or days) is no longer important.
No one can tell what is going to happen next. And what do they say? The market tends to make most of us look foolish most of the time.
i still cannot believe how on friday evening the mask madness seems to have started.
queues snaking all around like lining up to buy the lottery.
why friday evening? becos the psi hit 400 that day? cos its fri evening and people have more time?
with the hard talk by the govt and media relentlessly driving the topic, its enough to drum up fear.
so its refreshing to go to the ground and see hawkers and regular folks walking about, some with kids, in 100+/200+ even 300 psi as if there’s no haze. its a welcome reminder to stay sane in spite of all the media which tends to sensationalise things even as it disseminates useful info.
my personal experience – i was outside when psi was 400 and that was the first time i experienced DISCOMFORT to breathing, eyes and throat and had to wear a regular mask. it helped. the second time i had to wear a mask was the next day, sat morning, when psi was 300+ if i remember correctly. but by early afternoon, there was no longer a need for a mask. i do not have underlying medical conditions.
so we try to be sensible. our elderly and kids are staying indoors when psi is bad. and like when it went down sat evening to below 100, we took the kids out to enjoy the clearer skies.
some times the media does make one mad.
thanks for sharing.
i still cannot believe how on friday evening the mask madness seems to have started.
queues snaking all around like lining up to buy the lottery.
why friday evening? becos the psi hit 400 that day? cos its fri evening and people have more time?
with the hard talk by the govt and media relentlessly driving the topic, its enough to drum up fear.
so its refreshing to go to the ground and see hawkers and regular folks walking about, some with kids, in 100+/200+ even 300 psi as if there’s no haze. its a welcome reminder to stay sane in spite of all the media which tends to sensationalise things even as it disseminates useful info.
my personal experience – i was outside when psi was 400 and that was the first time i experienced DISCOMFORT to breathing, eyes and throat and had to wear a regular mask. it helped. the second time i had to wear a mask was the next day, sat morning, when psi was 300+ if i remember correctly. but by early afternoon, there was no longer a need for a mask. i do not have underlying medical conditions.
so we try to be sensible. our elderly and kids are staying indoors when psi is bad. and like when it went down sat evening to below 100, we took the kids out to enjoy the clearer skies.
some times the media does make one mad.
thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Agree with you that the media tends to pick up news that touches people’s emotions in order to make it newsworthy. Sometimes these stories are only showing exceptional or extreme cases.
On the other hand, the underlying reasons behind the unnecessary public panic in this case are our culture of fear of death and fear of losing out (i.e. kiasi and kiasu) : )
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Agree with you that the media tends to pick up news that touches people’s emotions in order to make it newsworthy. Sometimes these stories are only showing exceptional or extreme cases.
On the other hand, the underlying reasons behind the unnecessary public panic in this case are our culture of fear of death and fear of losing out (i.e. kiasi and kiasu) : )
our psi equipment should be state of the art.. y is it clear sky with psi below 100 without anybody knowledge.. luckily, psi reading not part of national defence..
our psi equipment should be state of the art.. y is it clear sky with psi below 100 without anybody knowledge.. luckily, psi reading not part of national defence..
In times like these, the government has to step up to show leadership. Either tell people there is no need for N95 masks and what to do instead, or make masks readily available at all CCs, schools, polyclinics, hospitals etc at cost or below. So far the message has been confusing and there has been little leadership shown.
In times like these, the government has to step up to show leadership. Either tell people there is no need for N95 masks and what to do instead, or make masks readily available at all CCs, schools, polyclinics, hospitals etc at cost or below. So far the message has been confusing and there has been little leadership shown.
The public panic to grab N95 masks at all costs is a herd mentality rather than a desperate act with lack of direction.
The government also told the public to be cautious in property purchase and introduced rounds of cooling measures. Why are the people still flocking to the showflats?
One thing is certain and proven. There was a lack of direction. We can’t turn back the clock to verify if there will be no mad rush for masks if there had been clear direction. But all things being equal, it is logical to posit that the mad rush would not have happened.
The public panic to grab N95 masks at all costs is a herd mentality rather than a desperate act with lack of direction.
The government also told the public to be cautious in property purchase and introduced rounds of cooling measures. Why are the people still flocking to the showflats?
One thing is certain and proven. There was a lack of direction. We can’t turn back the clock to verify if there will be no mad rush for masks if there had been clear direction. But all things being equal, it is logical to posit that the mad rush would not have happened.
dear property soul, i’m clueless about the new cooling measures. i’m still waiting to buy my first home and i have no outstanding loan. is this cooling measure tough on home buyer?
dear property soul, i’m clueless about the new cooling measures. i’m still waiting to buy my first home and i have no outstanding loan. is this cooling measure tough on home buyer?
It depends on the sum of your all other outstanding debt obligations. The property loan cannot exceed the TDSR threshold of 60% of your income. And now buyers cannot make use of their children’s name to get better financing terms, according to the new rule on “income-weighted average age of borrowers”.
You can read all the details at the MAS website.
It depends on the sum of your all other outstanding debt obligations. The property loan cannot exceed the TDSR threshold of 60% of your income. And now buyers cannot make use of their children’s name to get better financing terms, according to the new rule on “income-weighted average age of borrowers”.
You can read all the details at the MAS website.