As countries across the world open up travelling for all tourists, vaccinated or unvaccinated, I urge parents to seriously consider the risk and cost involved in taking their unvaccinated children for an overseas vacation.

Medical experts have said that the coronavirus survives better in cold conditions. Even if we may all be infected eventually in Singapore, local medical facilities are more reliable. There may not be close relatives or friends to seek help from if one is stranded overseas due to Covid-19 infection.

This pandemic provides a good opportunity to re-evaluate our needs and wants, especially for children who often are given plenty of treats which may not always be good for their character building.

I know of many Singaporeans who feel that an overseas trip counts as a need, as they think that Singapore is small with not many exciting places to explore.

With the unstable nature of the pandemic, we should learn to curb this urge and allow more time for the situation to stabilise.

Our forefathers went through much hardship stoically, and today's Singaporeans should have the same resolve to bear this pandemic out.

Foo Sing Kheng