S’pore Taxi & Ride-Hailing Firms Taking Measures to Fight Wuhan Virus

By
George Yang
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So, it’s now official: the fight against another virus has started.

Again.

With three people infected in Singapore so far, the authorities are expecting more confirmed cases. Not sure if Phua Chu Kang would be activated to sing a song again…

…but at least now we know taxi and ride-hailing firms have pressed the button for this battle.

S’pore Taxi & Ride-Hailing Firms Taking Measures to Fight Wuhan Virus

In the three confirmed cases, most of them have to take a taxi to get to the hospital or to their hotel.

In other words, taxi or private-hire drivers have become the front-line fighters.

ComfortDelgro, the largest taxi operator in Singapore, said that they have increased its “level of preparedness”.

For a start, they’ve a stockpile of surgical masks in all their ComfortDelGro fuel kiosks, workshops and general counters for their drivers.

And these aren’t bought in just recently; they’ve had them ready since the SARS incident back in 2003.

Its CEO said, “Ever since SARS in 2003, we have made sure that we are always ready for any similar incident. As part of our business continuity plans, we have stockpiled masks and disinfectants to ensure that we are never caught unaware. We hope that we do not need to activate these plans but we will if we have to.”

A stepped up cleaning and disinfecting schedule will also be activated as the situation develops.

The drivers “have been encouraged to take precautionary measures such as cleaning and disinfecting their taxis more frequently and to wear a face mask if they have respiratory symptoms such as a cough or runny nose to protect those around them…If they feel unwell, they should see a doctor immediately.”

How about private-hire drivers?

Well, the two biggest players, Grab and Go-Jek, have pressed the button, too.

Grab is now working with the authorities to stockpile masks and disinfectant for deployment, while Go-Jek is also working closely with the authorities, and will be creating a process for contact tracing.

For Go-Jek drivers, they can head down to the GoHub centre in Midview City to pick up surgical masks, hand sanitisers and anti-bacterial wipes.

SMRT Also Joined the Battle

The train operator will have hand sanitisers available in all their MRT stations and bus interchange.

Take that, you piece of 2019-nCoV.

How Long the Battle with SARS Took

If you’ve not been through Operation SARS before, then you might not know what to expect.

The entire “battle” might look scary to some, but it’s more like a wake-up call for us all: many of us who’ve been though Operation SARS learn how to wash our hands thoroughly, and that ”skill” stayed with us until now.

There were some inconvenience, but humankind is proud to say that we won the battle. The entire battle lasted for about six months—it was first discovered in February 2003 and victory cries were heard in July 2003.

The battle created heroes, especially medical front-line staff who lost their lives, and it also led to this song that’s sung by all popular Mandopop singers back then:

The fight might be tough, but let’s show those nasty bugs what we humankind are capable of.

CC to 2019-nCoV: Resistance is futile. Go infect other worlds instead.

Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:

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George Yang
Email: [email protected]