Seeing Through The Fog (2020-Present) – An Ongoing Documentation Of The Covid-19 Pandemic

A woman sits by herself, away from a large crowd that gathered for a performance at The National Gallery Singapore as part of the Light to Night Festival on Jan 11, 2020. The first case of Covid-19 would surface in Singapore twelve days later (Jan 23) and the concept of isolation would eventually become the “new normal”.

Long queues form at a supermarket in City Square Mall on Feb 8, 2020. A day earlier, the risk assessment level of the coronavirus was raised to DORSCON Orange, which triggered the first instance of panic buying of essential items such as toilet paper and instant noodles.

Mr Samy Govind, 36, has made it a yearly affair to participate in the Thaipusam festival for the past seven years. The Covid-19 pandemic did not hinder him. Thaipusam which translates to “when the moon is at its brightest” is a Hindu festival that commemorates Lord Subramaniam, also known as Lord Murugan, who represents virtue, youth and power, and is the destroyer of evil. Mr Samy had fasted for 48 days and lost four kilograms but felt that it was a good thing as he stayed healthy while focusing on his devotion to Lord Murugan. He carried a milk-pot offering while on a 4.5 kilometer route to the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple on Feb 8, 2020 at around 2.54am. Working as a safety training executive, he has taken measures to ensure that he watches out for the group of friends and himself by ensuring their hygiene despite the coronavirus pandemic. “We will do what we can to protect ourselves, but there is no worry because when I put everything with God, He will take care of me.”

Dr Lawrence Lam adjusts his surgical gloves as part of his personal protective equipment (PPE), which also consists of a medical gown and a N95 mask, when working in the fever zone at the Pioneer Polyclinic in Jurong West on Feb 28, 2020.

Only a handful of passengers at Paya Lebar MRT station don masks on Feb 28, 2020. Only people who are unwell or show signs of cough and flu are encouraged to be masked.

Despite the closure of mosques to prevent further spread of the coronavirus in Singapore, a large group of Muslim migrant workers decided to conduct the Maghrib evening prayer by themselves at an open grass patch at Kinta Road on Mar 15, 2020.

A few sweet potatoes are left on the rack at a supermarket in Chua Chu Kang on March 17, 2020. After news emerged of Malaysia's restricted movement, Singaporeans rushed to the supermarkets in another panic spree for daily necessities once again, creating more empty shelves.

On April 3, 2020, the Singapore government announced that all schools and most workplaces will be closed for a month as part of stricter measures to curb a recent jump in coronavirus infections in what is known as the “Circuit Breaker”, which triggered another panic buying phenomenon islandwide.

A typological look at grocery baskets taken at a supermarket in Jalan Besar on the day that the government announced Circuit Breaker measures (April 3, 2020).

People gather outside City Square Mall socially-distanced from one another on April 5, 2021. Mandatory mask-wearing regulations would only kick in ten days later (April 15).

Estate cleaners from Jalan Besar Town Council place red-and-white tape around a community pavilion at Kitchener Road to restrict people from using the facility on April 9, 2020 during the Circuit Breaker.

A cat lies beneath a bench at North Bridge Road that has been cordoned off with red and white tape to prevent people from utilising public spaces during the Circuit Breaker on April 17, 2020.

A rough sleeper lies on a bench at North Bridge Road that has been cordoned off with red and white tape to prevent people from utilising public spaces during the Circuit Breaker on April 20, 2020. Although the elderly remain the most vulnerable to the pandemic, many of them have chosen to ignore stay-home orders.

An elderly man falls asleep in front of the Singa the Lion statue at a corner of Jalan Besar Community Center on April 19, 2020. Although the elderly remain the most vulnerable to the pandemic, many of them have chosen to ignore stay-home orders.

A man and a woman take a photograph in an empty Plaza Singapura mall during the circuit breaker restrictions on April 27, 2020. Only shops that are deemed as essential services are allowed to remain open.

The view of the evening sunset from the photographer’s window on April 29, 2020 during the circuit breaker.

A frontline worker from the Singapore Civil Defence Force donning personal protective equipment (PPE) while responding to an ambulance call at Kitchener Road on May 10, 2020. The surge in cases of Covid-19 in Singapore meant that all frontline medical staff were required to don their PPEs while attending to patients.

For three weeks, barbershops in Singapore had to be shut. Non-essential services across the island were not allowed to operate and people had to stay home to contain the spread of Covid-19. But on May 12, 2020, the restriction on barbershops and hairdressers were eased and they were allowed to open once again.

Two men peer outside the window of a shophouse at Sam Leong Road during the Circuit Breaker restrictions on May 14, 2020.

A dog makes its way through a green patch near an empty Syed Alwi Road during the extension of the Circuit Breaker on May 16, 2020.

Staff at a clothing store in City Square Mall preparing for the second phase of the reopening of the economy on June 18, 2020.

62-year-old Abdul Wahab of Naseera Sports at Queensway Shopping Centre, wears a spandex mask printed with a graphic of a beard, moustache and a smile.
On June 19, 2020 Naseera Sports was one of the many businesses that reopened when the nation transitioned to the second phase of the reopening of the economy.

On June 19, 2020, Ikea Alexandra resumed its business as the nation entered into the second phase of its reopening.

Bangladeshi electrician Sarkar Mithun (in white), 27, had just come out of Mustafa after buying vegetables when he heard a loud thud. He noticed that Mr Chia Keng Tong, 80, had fallen down after coming out from a provision shop on the way to the loo on June 21, 2020. Mr Mithun immediately went over to help Mr Chia get up from the road and asked him to sit at a bench. He couldn’t find any antiseptic or plasters nearby and went to the distance and spent $6 to buy some antiseptic solution and plasters from another store. Mr Mithun immediately came back, cleaned his wound and applied a plaster. At first there were no one around but a few others came to help, including the provision shop owner that saw Mr Chia before he fell. The Singaporean provision shop owner, Mr Tariq, said that the old man had approached him to ask for some money but he offered to give the man fruits instead. Mr Mithun, who lives at nearby Lavender Street, said that his safety training in Singapore had taught him that if “anybody needs help, I must go help."

Dr Amy Khor, People’s Action Party Candidate for Hong Kah North single member constituency at a door-to-door walkabout on July 1, 2020. Election candidates like Ms Khor had to depend on small-group interactions like house-to-house visits or communicate via social and traditional media platforms to reach out to voters.

Dr Ang Yong Guan, the Progress Singapore Party’s candidate for Marymount SMC, helps Madam Chang Yoke Lin, 86, to wear a face mask while on a walkabout at Block 26 Sin Ming Road on the last day of election campaigning on July 8, 2020.

Elected Member-of-Parliament for Hougang constituency Dennis Tan (second from left) makes his way through a crowd of supporters from the Worker's Party at an informal gathering at Block 322 Hougang Ave 5 after the polling results were released on July 11, 2020.

Worshippers practicing safe distancing while praying at Masjid Maarof on the morning of Hari Raya Haji festivities in Jurong West, Singapore on July 31, 2020. Only limited slots were opened to worshippers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

People donning masks while commuting at the Jurong East temporary bus interchange on Aug 6, 2020.

Staff from a general ward at Tan Tock Seng Hospital pose for a photograph on Aug 9, 2020 as part of national day celebrations.

A man drives through a giant mural titled “Safe Entry” by artist Heman Chong that features a repeating, enlarged QR code, outside the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) on Aug 21, 2020.

Patrons of VivoCity mall scan their identification cards or check in to the mall by their TraceTogether app on Aug 22, 2020.

Despite sensory processing and sequencing difficulties since young and visual impairment, Jacqueline Kow continued to work hard in school and even took up Athletics and Swimming as her CCA and participated in numerous competitions, such as the National School Games, and actively served as a member of the CCA’s executive committee. She collected her N-level results from CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh) on Dec 17, 2020.

A woman and a man are caught in the midst of traffic at Victoria Street after a sudden downpour on Dec 22, 2020.

Deep in concentration, the Tang family picks up saga seeds scattered on a sloping grass patch next to Block 341 Hougang Avenue 7. Led by Ms Yvonne Tang, the five family members spanning three generations, along with a family friend, split themselves, aged between eight and 68, into two teams to pick up the seeds on Dec 28, 2020. The 48-year-old project manager said she initiated this saga-seed collecting activity on the first day of phase three of Singapore's reopening as they were able to gather in a larger group.

A group of six Singaporeans gathers together at North Bridge Road market and food centre on Dec 28, 2020 on the start of the first day of phase three of Singapore's reopening as they were able to gather in a larger group of up to eight people.

A group of elderly men spotted near Chinatown Complex without their masks on. An installation titled Inside Out at Kreta Ayer Square is also found in the background on Jan 16, 2021.

A socially-distanced crowd gathers on Padang to watch visualisations on the facade of the National Gallery as part of the Light to Night festival on Jan 30, 2021.

A rack of yellow boots at a factory-converted dormitory in Defu Lane on the second day of the lunar new year celebrations on February 13, 2021. Migrant workers face restrictions with moving around and most of their time is spent within the dormitory.

A migrant worker uses his phone at a factory-converted dormitory in Defu Lane on the second day of the lunar new year on Feb 13, 2021. Migrant workers face restrictions with moving around and most of their time is spent within the dormitory.

The FairPrice outlet in Kitchener Complex being cleaned on April 30, 2021. It was one of the places visited by individuals with Covid-19 from the Tan Tock Seng Hospital cluster, which is presently the second largest active cluster.

The announcement of additional measures in what is known as Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) led to long queues around various supermarkets in Singapore like FairPrice at Nex on May 14.