Culture Shock after Covid

This is airline travel but not as we know it. Expect to wear your mask full time. That doesn’t sound like such a big deal when we’ve all been wearing them for almost two years in Singapore. But we forget that we get breaks from wearing them at intervals during the day: when we go to the bathroom, when we return home, when we’re in the car, when we’re out exercising. It’s a bit different to wearing a mask for around 14 hours straight, except to slip pieces of food into mouth at designated mealtimes. And the flight experience feels more formal, in a strained kind of way – everyone is vigilant and stiff. 

Once you arrive at your destination, the outside world is going to come rushing in like a dust storm and roll right over you. It’s quite shocking. With alarming speed you suddenly realise that the rest of the world has moved on without you. On the subject of wearing masks, I didn’t spot one adult who wasn’t in the airport.

Duty Free shopping – don’t expect the full complement of perfumes and cosmetics although the alcohol and chocolate choices seem pretty strong still.

Expect lengthy queues and slow processing times at the check-in and bag drop counters especially if you are on a VTL (Vaccinated Travel Lane) flight back to Singapore. For my SQ flight from Heathrow back to Singapore, the check-in staff had to go through my pre-departure Covid test result, my electronic health declaration with the ICA (BVL), my arrival PCR booking QR code and my vaccinated travel pass issued by SafeTravel. In addition to my passport and plane ticket. I am an Employment Pass holder so this list may be different for PR and Citizen’s. Just a small tip, it is a lot quicker and easier to print all these off and present them as hard copies rather than fumble through your phone as you have your suitcase, hand luggage, your passport and maybe children to manage.

OK, so spoiler alert: people may not be wearing them depending on your destination. In the UK many people freely walk around unmasked, however you are required to wear a mask when using public transport unless you have medical reason why you cannot. It’s weird to get used to. And if you choose to go without one yourself, it feels even stranger. You keep feeling like you’ve forgotten something until you realise you’re allowed to forget. If you want to. And now is probably a good time to be reminded of the fact that wearing a mask is primarily designed to protect others rather than yourself. So if others are not returning the favour and wearing one, you may feel some panic as you realise that you’ve stepped into an environment that may increase your risk of exposure to illness. On shops and restaurants, there are signs that say, that mask wearing is your choice but we would prefer it out of respect for the staff.

What’s that? For more information, refer to the nearest pub, train station, sports event, tourist attraction or beachfront. 

Watching or reading the news in another country is quite the cultural eye opener. And a lesson in how to interpret data and statistics. I can’t speak for other countries, but in the UK there has been a deliberate move away reporting case numbers and hospitalisations and a much greater focus on vaccination rates and recovery. This has helped grow public acceptance for taking personal responsibility by way of getting vaccinated. Because people can see that by doing so they can reduce the severity of the infection and protect the vulnerable. There are still deaths unfortunately, but at least there is less confusion and fear and more empowerment and action to help reduce the incidence of this.