​The Big Read: Panic buying grabbed the headlines, but a quiet resilience is seeing S’poreans through Covid-19 outbreak

TODAY, 15 Feb (- Similar story in Channel NewsAsia online)

Singapore, like many countries, has been grappling with a mask shortage since the health crisis started, sparked by a sudden surge in demand. NTU Prof May Oo Lwin, whose research interest at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI) includes strategic and health communications, said it is likely that the public was responding to certain levels of fear and stress that the deluge of messages had aroused. She explained that scientists have pointed to a phenomenon where communication leading to fear and stressful emotions can cause unintended consequences.