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Reflecting on the Pandemic (so far…)
It’s been 536 days since I landed at Changi Airport, the iconic landmark that helped put Singapore on the map as an international travel hub. On that memorable day, February 16th, 2020, I knew that I was landing in an uncertain environment — this relatively unknown virus that had affected 183,000 people across a handful of countries, had counted Singapore as one of the first places affected.
It’s only fitting that on the eve of my first trip since that day, sitting at Changi again, that I reflect on this unusual period, and I will do so across three lenses— macro, professional and personal.
Macro
It’s stating the obvious to say that the pandemic has really catalysed or accelerated change around the world across a number of fronts. Globalisation is dying, voices of tribalism have grown much louder, and all the excitement now is about the “metaverse”. The nature of work and education has changed permanently, and millions of us had a rare pause to consider what is important in life.
I’ve seen the difference that the quality of government makes in managing the pandemic (regardless of the size, wealth and system of government), and the range of responses therein have been incredibly diverse — from ‘let’s go for zero COVID’ to ‘let’s pretend COVID doesn’t exist’. The outcomes have been similarly diverse, from…
