When COVID-19 first emerged in Singapore, the people stood as one and united against this new foe. They came together in support of their frontline heroes, the healthcare workers, and started a long, drawn-out fight against COVID-19.
At least, that’s the ideal story.
Unfortunately, there will always be some who are ruled by their fear. With all these reports of healthcare workers being discriminated against, it almost seems like we’re back to stage one last year, when the government had to continuously urge Singaporeans not to shun healthcare workers.
Aw, come on, really guys? Not this again. Haven’t we learned from last year?
MOH Working to Increase Support for Healthcare Workers
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has been working with the Multi-Ministry Taskforce to provide support for healthcare workers. In particular, they have been trying to find ways to support healthcare workers who have been shunned by their landlords.
According to Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, this includes negotiating with hotels to provide alternative accommodation options for workers who have been affected.
At the same time, he also made clear that such actions were not condoned, and that landlords should not use the government’s support as an excuse to kick healthcare workers out.
Instead, he urged Singaporeans to support TTSH and other healthcare workers, emphasising that “they are putting themselves in harm’s way in order to protect us”.
TTSH Workers Being Shunned by Public… Again
Recently, there have been increasing reports of Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) workers being shunned by the public.
When asked about the government’s support measures for TTSH workers being discriminated against, Jurong GRC Member of Parliament (MP), Tan Wu Meng, shared that he had heard stories of healthcare workers being shunned by the public. Some had been told by landlords to move out on short notice, while others had trouble hailing a Grab or a taxi to take them home.
This comes after the growth of the COVID-19 cluster at TTSH, which, at the time of writing, has 43 cases. Amongst the 43 people, one died from COVID-19 complications on 1 May.
As some of you might recall, this isn’t the first time that frontline healthcare workers have been ostracised by the public.
There had been similar reports when COVID-19 first broke out in Singapore in early 2020 and cases were on the rise.
Then Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs, Amrin Amin, commented on the “reports of nurses being asked not to take the lift, to take the stairs instead. Nurses have been asked to leave the train… Ambulance drivers being asked not to buy food, so as not to contaminate others”.
While some are understandably worried about the current COVID-19 situation, perhaps it would also be good to remember that the welfare of our frontline healthcare workers is also crucial in the fight against COVID-19.
But thankfully, there have been recent shows of support for TTSH staff by kind members of the public. So maybe, there is still some hope for humanity after all.
Feature Image: kandl stock / Shutterstock.com
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