At this time of publication, Singapore has just entered Phase 2, whereby social distancing rules will be relaxed. A semblance of normalcy is set to return, as we are permitted to dine in and visit our friends/loved ones again. Retail stores and facilities such as gyms are reopening too. Last week, I penned an editor’s note regarding the COVID-19 situation, urging readers to support our local businesses. If you haven’t already done so, you can read the article here.
In addition to small business owners, another group that has found the pandemic extremely trying is, of course, our healthcare workers. Our healthcare workers deserve our greatest respect and our immense gratitude. It has been almost 5 months since the first COVID case was confirmed in Singapore – since then, our healthcare professionals have been working tirelessly around the clock to deliver the utmost care to patients. To glean an insight to how hard they work, you can read an article by Mothership here.
Many of us complain when we are forced to wear masks during our grocery runs to the supermarkets. A healthcare professional has to wear their masks throughout the entirety of their shifts, which can be as long as 12 hours. The Personal Protective Equipment that they have to wear is hot, stifling and uncomfortable as well. Furthermore, for most of us, we look out only for the number of community cases in the government’s daily updates. We breathe a sigh of relief when we see that the number of local cases is just a handful. Yet, to a healthcare professional, there’s no difference between a community case and a case from the dormitories as they owe the same standard of care to both. As of today, the total number of cases is 44,000 – one can only imagine how swamped our healthcare workers must be. To get an insight into just how hard the work of a healthcare professional is, do watch the superb video by CNA above.
Minister Lawrence Wong – who teared up as he did so – said this in Parliament: “Words are not sufficient to express our appreciation for so many Singaporeans who went all out to fight the virus.” Recently, there has been a furore over the low wages of nurses, especially when compared to the offered salary of swab administrators. I will not wade into that debate, but it is clear that as a nation, healthcare professionals are undervalued for their service. I hope that they will get a nice bonus after this pandemic blows over, but that’s something which is out of my control.
Nevertheless, I would still like to do a small part and express my personal appreciation to our healthcare workers. I’m giving away the Normalzeit 36 Open Edition watch, valued at $495 USD/ ~S$700. At 36mm wide, it’s a great unisex watch. Furthermore, its silicone strap is comfortable for prolonged periods of wear and is both sweat and water-resistant – there should be no issues with washing one’s hands when wearing the watch. It’s also quartz, so the wearer can just grab the watch and go, without having to worry about setting the time or winding the watch. Lastly, the watch also has a fully luminous dial, ensuring that the watch is legible even in darkness. In many aspects, the Normalzeit 36 Open Edition is the perfect watch for healthcare professionals, which is why I’m giving it away to one! I should mention that this giveaway is not affiliated/sponsored by the brand – I wanted to give away a watch, and the Normalzeit 36 Open Edition happened to be the only unisex watch that I currently have.
The watch is like new, and comes with its original box as well as an additional red silicone strap. If you know of a healthcare professional who would appreciate a new watch, please email me at qile@wahsoshiok.com. In the email, tell me a little about the healthcare professional that you are nominating, his/her experiences during this COVID-19 pandemic, as well as links to his/her social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc) so that I’m able to verify his/her identity. A mere watch doesn’t come close to making up for all the sacrifices that healthcare professionals have had to make during this pandemic, but I hope it puts a smile on the wearer’s face.
Once again, to all our healthcare professionals – thank you.
