Musings on the C-word

Coronavirus, Covid-19, the Chinese Virus. This pandemic eclipses the 2008 financial crisis and 9/11 in terms of systemic shocks that have directly impacted all countries and disrupted our lives in a relatively short period. The latest update is 1 billion people in lockdown and the stock market down by 30 per cent compounded by the Russia and Saudi Arabia oil spat. I think the worst is yet to come. 

This crisis brought out the worst in humanity - fights over toilet paper, hoarding and profiteering. But also the best in humanity. The tireless medical staff who put their lives at risk, and frontline workers like bus drivers and essential services who keep the lights on. Last week, Malaysia closed her borders abruptly and 400,000 Malaysians who commute daily to Singapore for their livelihood had to decide whether to remain in Singapore or forego employment. The solidarity and support by Singaporeans for the workers stranded without accommodation were touching.

In Singapore, our life-style has not changed drastically, for now. No wholesale home quarantine, schools are open and people are still up and about although most events are cancelled. As for myself, I am getting used to working from home with video calls being the main medium. My organisation implemented work from home for the global workforce and embargoed all travel. I must admit though, that I am feeling a little restless with limited face to face interaction and the travels which were a considerable part of my job. 

Times like this test our resilience and readiness at all levels – national, organisational, community and personal. Two examples stand out for me:

The Singapore government's leadership provided regular, factual and action-oriented updates. Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan epitomised this. Now, that's one badass minister you would want to have your back! Trust in the government is a critical factor - the authorities recently released a mobile app that uses Bluetooth for contract tracing if you were in proximity of a Covid-19 case. I was pleasantly surprised that my friends and community encouraged each other to download the app even though there were concerns of big brother at the back of our minds. 

The company I work for, Akamai Technologies, has frequent communication via emails, blogs and global live webcasts. Our founder and CEO Dr Tom Leighton and the executive leadership communicates with candour and empathy. Bobby Blumofe and his team kept the Internet open for business even with 50% more traffic than normal. Nevertheless, it's going to be a bumpy ride ahead. But this is also an opportunity to help the constituents that we serve. I am proud of our technology and teams who are making a difference to our customers - a Japanese manufacturing company who added thousands of staff without VPN to be able to securely access applications remotely in a matter of days, and an Australian airline who onboarded 600 additional call centre agents based in Manila within 2 hours to support the spike in customer inquiries. 

There are many externalities that we can't control, but we can certainly control how we respond to the pandemic to help flatten the curve:

• Social distancing.
• Good hygiene (don't touch your face!).
• Rest and enough sleep.
• A well-balanced diet.
• Exercise. Your immune system and mood will thank you. If you are quarantined at home, there are many bodyweight exercise routines available online, some with simple tools like resistance bands. My favourite is Tabata prisoner squats and burpees.

With the extended time at home, I am also able to catch up on stuff that is perpetually on my to-do list:

• Learning and development courses from work. I have also signed up for an online cybersecurity certification. 
• I don't watch TV but listen to lots of podcasts. My favourite includes The Joe Rogan Experience, Freakonomics, The Tim Ferriss Show, Hardtalk and The CISO Series Podcasts.
• Spending more time with my beautiful family although I can be a pain at times! Just ask them.
• Clean out clutter that no longer sparks joy à la Marie Kondo.

Oh, if you have some spare cash and a long investment horizon (> 10 years), this is a rare opportunity to get into equities at substantially discounted prices. The markets always recover. I am drip-feeding my fixed-income investments into equities throughout the year. (Disclaimer: I am a financial novice with an excellent financial adviser, please consult a professional)

Finally, let's look out for each other, take care of our mental health and support our neighbourhood businesses. A positive attitude goes a long way to get us through this challenging period.

So don’t stop living. This too shall pass.