Supermarket branch manager Mohamed Amin is unable to forget how items flew off the shelves in a wave of panic buying after the Dorscon (Disease Outbreak Response System Condition) level was raised to orange in February.

Mr Amin, who has been managing the FairPrice outlet at Block 135 Jurong Gateway Road for three years, says: "Even from midnight to 3am, in the early stages of Covid, there were still a lot of customers trying to avoid the crowd."

In the past few months, Mr Amin, 59, has helped to keep the store running smoothly, overseeing tasks ranging from safe management measures to the organisation of inventory and staff's work schedules.

He is among Singaporeans featured in video interviews in the National Day Parade morning telecast.

Mr Amin manages a team of more than 50 people at the 24/7 outlet. He and his team have had to adjust to numerous changes. They have put in longer hours to serve a larger volume of customers and restock shelves with goods.

His colleagues' dedication has kept Mr Amin going, even when fatigue set in. "When I see that my junior staff can work so hard, I also want to do more."

The pandemic was also a lesson in logistics. The team had to restock certain essential items twice a day, compared with just once a day before the pandemic.

They also have more duties, such as temperature-taking and ensuring that shoppers keep a safe distance.

Mr Amin, who visited the store even on his days off to oversee operations in the outbreak's early stages, says: "We felt stressed at first, but we managed to overcome these challenges with help from the management, which sent a team from operations and staff to help us."

The manager, who has been working at FairPrice for over 35 years and was previously a storekeeper at other branches, is satisfied when he is able to help customers.

He recalls an instance when he and his staff helped a lone elderly shopper to carry her groceries, give her priority in the queue and load the items into a taxi.

"She says that without my help she would have had to wait for a long time. I felt happy for her, too."

When customers find that items are out of stock, he takes down their contact details so he can inform them when the stock arrives. This is especially important to shoppers trying to limit their movement amid the pandemic, he adds.

"Some of our regular customers live in Clementi but they still come here because they are used to shopping here and talking to us."