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Coronavirus hit Singapore hard.
- Coronavirus is spreading across Asia, with 86 cases confirmed in Singapore.
- The COVID-19 virus has killed more than 2,200 people and infected more than 76,000 across the globe.
- Businesses in Singapore are bracing for the virus' spread by encouraging employees to work from home, but the policies are making workers fear for their job security.
- For those in the healthcare industry, it means doubling down on work - and facing discrimination from others assuming they're contaminated.
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Coronavirus fears have swept across Southeast Asia, with 86 cases confirmed in Singapore, one of the highest numbers of cases anywhere outside of China.
The coronavirus was a major factor cited by Singapore when it cut its 2020 GDP forecast to between -0.5% to 1.5% on February 17.
Authorities in Singapore had raised the risk alert to Dorscon Orange, the second-highest level, on February 7. According to Singapore's Ministry of Health, this indicates that the disease is severe and spreads easily from person to person but is being contained. This puts the coronavirus on the same level as the SARS outbreak in 2003.
The COVID-19 virus has killed more than 2,200 people and infected more than 76,000 across the globe.
Companies in Singapore are trying to carry out the government's instructions without causing pandemonium among their employees and while continuing business as usual. The balancing act has put everyone on edge, especially the medical workers who face a heavier workload and a greater risk of exposure.
Business Insider talked to several workers on the ground about how they are attempting to balance all of these factors in the face of the outbreak.
Companies limit travel and encourage working from home
As a rule of thumb, the Ministry of Health is advising employees returning home to Singapore from China to complete a 14-day quarantine.
And many companies in Singapore are allowing employees to work from home where feasible and have cancelled major corporate events, such as Citibank's annual investor conference and an aviation summit ahead of Asia's largest airshow, which opened early this week.
Many offices in Singapore require employees to take their temperature twice a day and have moved meetings online.
"We advised all our employees to work from home indefinitely and we've been minimizing travel as much as we can," said Beatrice Sng, HR director for Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa at enterprise software company Industrial and Financial Systems, who also emphasized that the company is limiting face-to-face meetings, including business travel. "We are now already discussing our business continuity plan and since the government announced that this could continue on for a worst-case scenario of six months, we might not even wait for the Dorscon alert to drop to yellow."
Companies in Singapore are trying to figure out the thin line between precaution and panic.
"We follow the guidelines that the Ministry of Health establishes and anything additional is extra caution," said Yi Yi Yeap, an admissions counselor at Yale-NUS College in Singapore. "But we are taking more precautions than what we are told while trying not to cause pandemonium at the same time. I think most workplaces are trying to figure that balance out."
Healthcare professionals face discrimination and double up on precautionary measures, afraid of bringing the virus home
Some industries are feeling the heat just a little more than others - especially where working from home is not a viable option.
At the epicenter of the epidemic, healthcare professionals have had to take up extra shifts as hospital visits surge with people afraid they may have coronavirus symptoms. The hospital workers are taking extra precautionary measures to protect themselves from infection.
"We are taking necessary precautions like wearing disposable scrubs with a full gown and goggles, bathing after our shifts, and taking our temperatures regularly," said Ada Ngo, an emergency department doctor at the Singapore General Hospital. "But we're always afraid that our protective equipment might not be 100% and we could bring the virus home to our kids and grandparents."
Healthcare workers also risk facing discrimination as they commute home, as people in uniforms are shunned by passengers on public transportation and private-hire drivers. Some even say they have been asked to leave trains or not take certain lifts.
"A few of my nurse friends have had drivers cancel on them and at times it's been hard to book a ride from the hospital on the ride-hailing apps," said Ngo.
In response, ride-hailing firm Grab launched a dedicated service for healthcare professionals traveling to and from hospitals that allows them to book rides with more ease. Grab says about 2,000 of its driver-partners have signed up to be part of the service.
Cancelled flights and vacant shops have workers worried about job security
Aviation workers are also taking precautionary measures like wearing facemasks and monitoring for sick passengers. On top of their fears of contracting the virus, airline workers have to juggle a variable work schedule due to a string of cancelled flights. Singapore Airlines recently announced plans to cut flights for the next three months due to weak demand as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
"I'm scared that it's going to get worse and I'm going to lose all my flights," said a flight attendant for Singapore Airlines who wished to remain anonymous. "That's where my paycheck comes from. So it's pretty scary."
On the sidelines of this chaos, smaller businesses are struggling to make up for weak demand.
Rozanah Roza, owner of Alpha Chic, a nail salon in Singapore she opened in 2018, said her business has slowed down since the start of the outbreak.
"People are working from home and aren't coming out to get their nails done as much as before," she said. "There's not much I can do. I can't close the shop. I have bills to pay and I can't work from home. There's not much of a choice for me."
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