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SINGAPORE: Eric (not his real name), 44, works as a security officer at a condominium in Marine Parade. He needs to have his mobile phone with him at all times and make sure that he responds, within five minutes, to messages from the condo management in a WhatsApp group chat. He also has to make sure that cars in the condo are parked within the designated line markings, and “not on or over the lines”. Otherwise, his security firm might end up paying “liquidated damages”, or fines, as those in the industry calls them. In August, Eric’s firm was fined twice. Once, when technicians came to the condo to service its lifts and he did not respond in time to a WhatsApp group chat message about the servicing. “With only four of us working that shift, we were also busy with our own duties,” he said. On the other occasion, the condo management saw a car that was not parked properly. “We did not clamp the car and the management spotted it before us,” said Eric. He added: “Once … [Read more...] about The Big Read: From rude residents to ‘unfair fines’, condo security guards have a lot to put up with

Want to improve your chance of staying healthy? Stop touching your face! One of the more difficult challenges in public health has been to teach people to wash their hands frequently and to stop touching the facial mucous membranes – the eyes, nose and mouth, all entry portals for the new coronavirus and many other germs. “Scratching the nose, rubbing your eyes, leaning on your chin and your fingers go next to your mouth – there’s multiple ways we do it,” said Dr Nancy Elder, a professor of family medicine at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, who has studied face touching among doctors and clinic staff members. “Everybody touches their face, and it’s a difficult habit to break.” As communities prepare for the spread of coronavirus around the globe, the primary advice from health officials is for people to wash their hands. But a number of health researchers say the public health message also should include a more forceful warning about face touching. “The … [Read more...] about To minimise your risk of COVID-19, stop touching your face

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered at least two people executed, banned fishing at sea and locked down the capital, Pyongyang, as part of frantic efforts to guard against COVID-19 and its economic damage, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Friday (Nov 27). Kim's government also ordered diplomats overseas to refrain from any acts that could provoke the United States because it is worried about President-elect Joe Biden’s expected new approach toward North Korea, lawmakers told reporters after attending a private briefing by the National Intelligence Service. One of the lawmakers, Ha Tae-keung, quoted the NIS as saying Kim is displaying “excessive anger” and taking “irrational measures” over the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact. Ha said the NIS told lawmakers that North Korea executed a high-profile money changer in Pyongyang last month after holding the person responsible for a falling exchange rate. He quoted the NIS as saying that North Korea also … [Read more...] about North Korea executed people, shut capital to stop COVID-19, South Korea agency says

I’m sure I’m not the first person to warn you about the dangers of loud noises. Our ears are remarkably sensitive organs and they can suffer permanent damage after a surprisingly short exposure to sounds in excess of 100 decibels (dB). It’s why people who routinely work with heavy machinery wear hearing protection. But for everyone else who simply goes about their lives doing normal things like listening to music, the threat of hearing damage seems like a faraway risk, not something that needs to be guarded against. And that’s exactly wrong. Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a slow-moving epidemic. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) estimates that more than 40 million (about 12%) of American adults ages 20-69 have some kind of hearing loss . Half of these people don’t experience any loud sounds at work. What makes NIHL so insidious is that it’s almost impossible to detect in its early stages. Because it’s cumulative, repeated loud … [Read more...] about A deafening epidemic: The rise of noise-induced hearing loss, and how to stop it

SINGAPORE: Back when I was an undergraduate student in the United States, I interned at the University’s Career Placement Centre by assisting students in their job search. Once, I caught the flu bug, but being the ever-industrious Singaporean, I took some medicine and turned up at work. Unfortunately, the sight of me blowing my nose twice in the space of three minutes convinced the manager to send me home. My appeals to remain at work were but to no avail. The manager then donned a face mask and sprayed down the entire office meticulously with anti-virus spray, as if I was patient zero for a viral epidemic. She then chided me for coming to work, risking the spread of the flu in the office. I left feeling rather amused at the whole incident. These days, I am less amused. Most of us are aware of the practice of absenteeism, where one is intentionally absent from work. However, what happens when someone turns up at work despite being ill? Professor Cary Cooper at Lancaster … [Read more...] about Commentary: An ironman mentality is leading many to turn up for work despite being sick