IT has been six years since the Sars (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) epidemic, which claimed 33 lives in Singapore.
And Singaporeans have not forgotten. Indeed, the fear remains.
And it has braced Singaporeans to prepare for, and expect, the worst.
More than eight out of 10 people polled by The New Paper were aware and concerned about a possible pandemic here. (See graphic)
On a scale of 1 to 5, only less than 10 per cent of Singaporeans who were aware of swine flu said they weren't worried about an outbreak.
Of the clear majority who are worried, the fear is two-fold: That a swine flu outbreak will worsen the economic downturn, and that it could lead to death.
Miss Michelle Tay, 19, a student, said: "I'm worried that swine flu could affect the economy. What if my parents' business is affected? They import meat from overseas and it's mainly pork."
Housewife Iris Ho, 58, has already started taking precautions against swine flu by avoiding crowded places.
She said: "I think doing so will lower my chances of contracting swine flu as I think it spreads in a manner similar to the common cold."
Some are concerned that their plans will be disrupted.
Mr Matthew Lee, 19, a student, said: "I'm monitoring the situation closely as I'm afraid that the swine flu could ruin my travel plans."
He said that although he has been planning to travel to Australia, he is afraid he may not get a refund on his air ticket if an outbreak occurs.
Taking it easy
But when it comes to taking precautions, most of those polled seemed to be taking it easy.
Almost two-thirds of those who were aware of swine flu had not taken any precautionary measures.
This was because some were unaware of how to protect themselves.
Mr Bryan Tan, 21, a student, said : "I'm really worried about the swine flu as I've heard it spreads faster than Sars.
"The problem is I don't know how to protect myself against it."
Mr Danny Nah, 21, a national serviceman, said: "I have not heard anything about how to stop swine flu. I don't even know if there's a cure."
Mr Nah suggested that something similar to the "Sars rap" could be introduced here to help promote awareness of measures that can be used to stop swine flu.
Although some know of the need for measures such as washing their hands, they are fearful that such precautions may not be enough to prevent the spread of the disease.
Mr Chandran Lingam, 65, a retiree, said: "I have been washing my hands more regularly and also been trying to get more rest, but I'm not sure if doing so helps to protect against swine flu."
Said Mr Tan Chuan Ray, 20, a national serviceman: "In a way, precautions will never be enough because the virus can be transmitted even before the flu symptoms show.
Hopefully (taking precautions) will help to hinder the transmission of the virus a bit."
Part-time tutor Kenneth Tan, 21, was afraid that even wearing masks may not be good enough.
He said: "The best thing to do would be to keep the disease from coming to Singapore and to have a good quarantine and containment plan."
Confident
He was one of the many who were confident that even if swine flu does reach our shores, it will be properly dealt with.
Ms Nirmala Vasudev, 60, a teacher's aide, said: "Singapore has already survived Sars, and we are even more prepared now for an outbreak than we were back then."
Still, there is a minority who are blissfully unaware of swine flu, depite the death of 159 people in Mexico and a 23-month-old baby in the US.
Patrick Chew, 19, a student, is one of the 20 per cent who haven't heard of the disease. He said: "If I haven't heard about it, it's probably not that bad."
- By Han Yongming, Kay Tan, Jovita Chua and Naveen Kanagalingam, news room interns
