This time last year, Singapore had eased Covid-19 restrictions, allowing groups of eight to gather and dine out together. The nation also embarked on a journey to vaccinate as many people as possible.
Today, Singapore is one of the most vaccinated countries in the world but dining and gathering limits are back down to five, with the country bracing itself for a possible surge in cases involving the Omicron variant.
Is Singapore ready for Omicron, and to live with Covid-19?
Singapore is emerging from its worst outbreak since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic - a Delta variant-fuelled spell that saw four-digit daily cases since September and a record 5,324 on Oct 27.
Though numbers have fallen to the hundreds, and fewer patients are in hospital, the nation is maintaining existing safe management measures and bolstering vaccination and healthcare efforts, while refining border controls.
It is gearing up for its next big challenge: the mutated and highly infectious Omicron variant, now spreading around the globe at an unprecedented rate.
Singapore needs to be on its guard against Omicron, say experts
Preliminary findings point to Omicron causing milder disease, but Singapore needs to be on its guard against the new variant, say experts.
It is far better for the country's healthcare system to be overprepared, than for it to be caught off guard in the event that Omicron springs unexpected surprises, they told Insight.
S'poreans take new Covid-19 variant in their stride
A day after product marketeer Mervelle Lek booked a flight to London, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the mutated Covid-19 strain Omicron a "variant of concern".
Britain subsequently tightened rules to require arrivals from all countries to self-isolate while waiting for test results, and to mandate masks in retail settings.
Ms Lek, 27, went ahead with her week-long trip to London from Nov 30 to Dec 6.
The Omicron wildcard - time needed to answer critical questions
Two more weeks - that is when more will be known of the Omicron Covid-19 variant that has countries around the world rushing to take precautionary measures, including tightening borders.
Perhaps by then, countries will be able to make more science-based decisions on how to deal with this new variant that has sat the world on its ear.
Regular testing, hybrid work models the new normal for businesses
Businesses in Singapore are taking the Omicron curveball in their stride, given the high vaccination rate of the workforce and the adoption of hybrid work models.
Firms are encouraged that Singapore's calibrated reopening is going ahead despite the new coronavirus strain, with more employees allowed to return to the workplace from Jan 1.
