Five lessons from fighting Covid-19

This article first appeared as an op-ed in The Straits Times, 19 March 2020

It's a long-haul fight. Go about life normally, but not complacently.

One month since Singapore upgraded our Covid-19 alert level to Dorscon Orange, the disease has since hurtled on to wreak havoc in other countries in Asia, Europe and North America.

Singapore was briefly the country with the second most infections, and its early exposure to the disease led us up the steep learning curve ahead of others. The brutal experience with SARS in 2003 has prepared the country well for Covid-19, and Singapore has since drawn praise from the World Health Organisation and international communicable disease experts for its effective containment measures.

However, it would be premature and indeed foolish to celebrate given that Covid-19 continues to lob curveballs. With Covid-19 being highly contagious as well, containing this insidious pathogen involves everyone and this is why effective communication is especially vital.

Even in the span of weeks, our brush with the disease has been intense, enabling us to distill crucial lessons in what has worked, floundered or faltered in communicating during a crisis. I identify here five lessons.

1. Transparency amidst turmoil

Covid-19 first reared its head in Singapore in late January to massive confusion. There was grave uncertainty around whether the disease would be as deadly as SARS. Data from China was alarming yet inconclusive, and worse, headlines and images from Wuhan on the rising fatality rate and high profile deaths of several doctors heightened fears. It was in such chaotic circumstances that the Singapore government had to exert control and assert authority.

 Its response was one of transparency. Singapore convened regular high-level press conferences involving its multi-ministerial taskforce, with leaders giving unambiguous information about the measures being taken. This included quarantining contacts of those infected, imposing travel bans and advisories, testing and treating cases and healthcare-related precautions. Information channels were set up to reach out directly to the public with reliable and timely information to counter fake news.

The transparency and regularity with which information was provided, including hard data on the number and profile of cases and their mutual connections, offered welcome clarity amidst a fog of doubt.

2. Consistency trumps confusion

Despite these efforts, confusion reigned because of the lack of clear information on the disease itself. One salient point of contention was whether to mask or not to mask.

Footage from China depicted people donning masks, as if to suggest that masks are vital protection. In Singapore’s initial weeks of reckoning with Covid-19, people were increasingly seen wearing masks on trains and in crowded areas.

However, as health experts repeatedly advised, masks have limited use in preventing infection in casual contact and pales in comparison to the mundane practice of hand-washing. With people in Singapore beginning to stockpile masks, setting the record straight to ensure a healthy supply of masks for healthcare workers was critical.

To arrest this trend, consistency of messaging was key, not just in words but in deeds. So political leaders were never seen wearing masks in public engagements. This was in sharp contrast to Hong Kong or South Korea where Chief Executive Carrie Lam and President Moon Jae-in (above) were often pictured with masks on.

With all-round reinforcement of the message that masking up was neither necessary nor useful, the wearing and hoarding of masks tapered off. Consistency of messaging thus trumped confusion.

3. Partnership with community

As the disease knows no geographical, cultural or demographic boundaries, our collective resistance is only as strong as our weakest link.

Hence, top-down communication alone cannot effectively reach everyone. A groundswell of supportive voices rose, including celebrity blogger Mr Brown’s Kim Huat Takes the Bus videos, artist Weiman Kow’s appealing infocomics on the virus and other helpful community initiatives that organically emerged to strengthen the chorus around socially responsible behaviour.

A slew of community efforts also sprung up such as #braveheartsg that supports frontline medical staff and Better.sg that connects people with extra masks and sanitisers to those in need, demonstrating the importance of partnership with the community to bring everyone on board the fight against the virus.

4. Reassurance over condescension

We cannot underestimate the adverse psychological impact of a threat such as Covid-19 that seems simultaneously immediate yet remote. People feel beleaguered and desperate to protect themselves and their loved ones, and to achieve some semblance of control over this amorphous hazard. To ensure that public messaging hits home, an empathetic stance that does not dismiss people’s fears but acknowledges their concerns will more greatly resonate.

PM Lee’s two national addresses on Covid-19 have been commendable in this regard - authoritative yet reassuring. Notably, the mixed response to the leaked audio of Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing’s closed-door discussion at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry suggests that old-fashioned common sense delivered with candour may appeal to some, but grate on others. It is safe to say that reassurance ultimately prevails over condescension. 

5. Normalcy without complacency

The final and perhaps most difficult lesson to fully grasp is how we must now build a sense of normalcy without falling prey to complacency.

The Republic has so far managed to contain the virus to some extent without needing to lock down the city. Instead, people have mostly gone about business as usual, albeit with minor inconveniences such as contact tracing measures and workplace adaptations.

However, we must avoid becoming cavalier about the disease, especially given the concern over imported cases sparking a second wave of infections here. The fight with Covid-19 is predicted to be long-drawn. Even as cases taper off in China, where the virus initiated, infections are now rising into thousands in Europe, the new epicentre of the pandemic. Should cases be imported to spark a rise in community transmissions here, we may need to consider stricter procedures as well.

This means we must steadfastly accept that managing this disease is part of our lived reality, proceed with life as normal, but not let up in taking the necessary safeguards.

Inevitably, people do experience campaign fatigue over time so strategies must be developed to maintain awareness about Covid-19 and refresh public messaging at appropriate intervals. This may be achieved through crafting novel slogans, recruiting new spokespersons or experimenting with alternative communication platforms.

Attaining normalcy without breeding complacency will be a formidable challenge, but one that we must strive to achieve.

In the ongoing bid to stamp out Covid-19, we have also had to combat fake news and herd mentality such as panic buying. While we have yet to decisively win these battles, we can nevertheless draw valuable insights to sharpen our communication and messaging, so as to inoculate everyone against disease, distortions and disinformation.

Lim Sun Sun is professor of communication and technology and head of humanities, arts and social sciences at the Singapore University of Technology and Design. She is also a Nominated Member of Parliament.