🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 84 (from laksa070)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa084.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/magazine/singapore-coronavirus.html\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/magazine/singapore-coronavirus.html\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/05\/20\/magazine\/singapore-coronavirus.html","crawl_time":1772932142,"first_indexed_time":1589966643,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,nytimes!www,\/2020\/05\/20\/magazine\/singapore-coronavirus.html s443","src_root_hash":"4566504020376537684","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"A Sudden Coronavirus Surge Brought Out Singapore’s Dark Side - The New York Times","meta_descriptions":["The pandemic seemed to pass over the city-state. Then the government was blindsided by an outbreak among poor migrant workers in packed dormitories."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Advertisement\nSKIP ADVERTISEMENT\nThe pandemic seemed to pass over the city-state. Then the government was blindsided by an outbreak among poor migrant workers in packed dormitories.\nSingapore on April 7.\nCredit...\nThen Chih Wey\/Xinhua News Agency\/Eyevine, via Redux\nPublished May 20, 2020\nUpdated June 23, 2020\nI remember that time when we’d beaten the pandemic. That’s what we thought, anyway, for a few weeks in late winter: That\nSingapore\nhad conquered the novel\ncoronavirus\nwithout lockdowns or widespread mask use, without even closing the schools.\nThe first known cases came into the city with Chinese tourists in January and trickled slowly through the community, sending out waves of fear. Each day added a handful of new confirmed cases to the running tally — three one day, seven the next, then three again and so on. But somehow the pandemic never mushroomed the way we had feared it would. After two months, there were 509 confirmed cases, and only two people had died. Cinemas and bars had stayed open, restaurants and open-air food courts were crowded and people still browsed malls and markets. Testing was relatively sparse; we were instructed not to wear masks unless we were ill; there was no lockdown. The government pushed homespun common sense — lots of reminders to wash hands and stay home if sick. At the same time, it leveraged the tight controls for which Singapore is known — elaborate surveillance, police investigators, the threat of criminal prosecution — to trace and isolate anybody who caught the virus or had been in close contact with a confirmed patient.\nFor a time, that seemed to work. To an outsider, this may sound naïve — that a pandemic could be fended off with soap and spying. But sitting in Singapore, a big city where you can leave your door unlocked and jaywalking is taboo, it didn’t seem far-fetched that the government had controlled a fearsome new disease with the same tools it used to control its residents: pragmatism, efficiency and extreme surveillance. It appeared that the virus was passing us by; that the infections would sputter along at a low level and finally disappear altogether. As apocalyptic outbreaks erupted in parts of Europe and the United States, the juxtaposition between our lives and the images of death we saw on the news suffused the city with a sort of dreamlike unease. The coffee shops and subway cars were crowded, but, as far as we knew, the virus was hardly spreading. Could it really be this easy?\nSubscribe to The Times\nto read as many articles as you like.\nRelated Content\nCoronavirus (US)\nThe number of known coronavirus cases in the United States continues to grow rapidly. Follow here for live coverage, analysis and explanatory journalism.\nHannah Yoon for The New York Times\nHilary Swift for The New York Times\nJennifer Caldwell\nMore in Magazine\nIllustration by Tomi Um\nDevin Oktar Yalkin for The New York Times\nIllustration by Louise Zergaeng Pomeroy\nIllustration by Tomi Um\nEditors’ Picks\nShutterstock\nGetty Images\nTrending in The Times\nThe Wallace Wood Estate\nTierney L. Cross\/The New York Times\nMatteo Prandoni\/BFA.com\nGetty Images\nIllustration by Sam Whitney\/The New York Times\nLindsey Whitaker\nUli Seit for The New York Times\nNatalie Keyssar for The New York Times\nAn Chen\nAdvertisement\nSKIP ADVERTISEMENT","attrs_markdown":"[Skip to content](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/05\/20\/magazine\/singapore-coronavirus.html#site-content)[Skip to site index](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/05\/20\/magazine\/singapore-coronavirus.html#site-index)\n\nSearch & Section Navigation\n\nSection Navigation\n\nSearch\n\n[Log in](https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fsubscription%2Fonboarding-offer%3FcampaignId%3D7JFJX%26EXIT_URI%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.nytimes.com%252F2020%252F05%252F20%252Fmagazine%252Fsingapore-coronavirus.html&asset=masthead)\n\nSaturday, March 7, 2026\n\n[Today’s Paper](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/todayspaper)\n\n[Magazine](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/magazine)\\|A Sudden Coronavirus Surge Brought Out Singapore’s Dark Side\n\nhttps:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/05\/20\/magazine\/singapore-coronavirus.html\n\n- Share full article\n\nAdvertisement\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/05\/20\/magazine\/singapore-coronavirus.html#after-top)\n\nSupported by\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/05\/20\/magazine\/singapore-coronavirus.html#after-sponsor)\n# A Sudden Coronavirus Surge Brought Out Singapore’s Dark Side\nThe pandemic seemed to pass over the city-state. Then the government was blindsided by an outbreak among poor migrant workers in packed dormitories.\n\n- Share full article\n\n![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2020\/05\/20\/magazine\/20Singapore-mag-01\/20Singapore-mag-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nSingapore on April 7.Credit...Then Chih Wey\/Xinhua News Agency\/Eyevine, via Redux\n\nBy Megan K. Stack\n\nPublished May 20, 2020Updated June 23, 2020\n\nI remember that time when we’d beaten the pandemic. That’s what we thought, anyway, for a few weeks in late winter: That [Singapore](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/06\/23\/world\/asia\/singapore-elections-coronavirus.html) had conquered the novel [coronavirus](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/06\/23\/world\/asia\/singapore-elections-coronavirus.html) without lockdowns or widespread mask use, without even closing the schools.\n\nThe first known cases came into the city with Chinese tourists in January and trickled slowly through the community, sending out waves of fear. Each day added a handful of new confirmed cases to the running tally — three one day, seven the next, then three again and so on. But somehow the pandemic never mushroomed the way we had feared it would. After two months, there were 509 confirmed cases, and only two people had died. Cinemas and bars had stayed open, restaurants and open-air food courts were crowded and people still browsed malls and markets. Testing was relatively sparse; we were instructed not to wear masks unless we were ill; there was no lockdown. The government pushed homespun common sense — lots of reminders to wash hands and stay home if sick. At the same time, it leveraged the tight controls for which Singapore is known — elaborate surveillance, police investigators, the threat of criminal prosecution — to trace and isolate anybody who caught the virus or had been in close contact with a confirmed patient.\n\nFor a time, that seemed to work. To an outsider, this may sound naïve — that a pandemic could be fended off with soap and spying. But sitting in Singapore, a big city where you can leave your door unlocked and jaywalking is taboo, it didn’t seem far-fetched that the government had controlled a fearsome new disease with the same tools it used to control its residents: pragmatism, efficiency and extreme surveillance. It appeared that the virus was passing us by; that the infections would sputter along at a low level and finally disappear altogether. As apocalyptic outbreaks erupted in parts of Europe and the United States, the juxtaposition between our lives and the images of death we saw on the news suffused the city with a sort of dreamlike unease. The coffee shops and subway cars were crowded, but, as far as we knew, the virus was hardly spreading. Could it really be this easy?\n\n[Subscribe to The Times](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=8WXW7) to read as many articles as you like.\n\n- Share full article\n\n## Related Content\n### [Coronavirus (US)](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/spotlight\/coronavirus)\nThe number of known coronavirus cases in the United States continues to grow rapidly. Follow here for live coverage, analysis and explanatory journalism.\n\n- [Thousands Believe Covid Vaccines Harmed Them. Is Anyone Listening?](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/03\/health\/covid-vaccines-side-effects.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/02\/01\/multimedia\/25vaccine-side-effects-barcavage-zwcp\/25vaccine-side-effects-barcavage-zwcp-thumbLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Hannah Yoon for The New York Times\n- [Covid Vaccine Side Effects: 4 Takeaways From Our Investigation](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/03\/health\/covid-vaccine-side-effects-takeaways.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/26\/multimedia\/00vaccine-takeaways-fwlq\/00vaccine-takeaways-fwlq-thumbLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Hilary Swift for The New York Times\n- [Study of Patients With a Chronic Fatigue Condition May Offer Clues to Long Covid](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/02\/21\/health\/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-long-covid.html)\n  \n  Jennifer Caldwell\n\n### [More in Magazine](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/magazine)\n- [My Sister’s Crime Shattered Our Family. Do I Have to Help Her?](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/07\/magazine\/sisters-crime-family-ethics.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/14\/magazine\/14mag-ethicist\/14mag-ethicist-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Illustration by Tomi Um\n- [Rebecca Solnit Says the Left’s Next Hero Is Already Here](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/07\/magazine\/rebecca-solnit-interview.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/15\/magazine\/15mag-interview-solnit-03\/15mag-interview-solnit-03-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Devin Oktar Yalkin for The New York Times\n- [Can I Call My Husband a Nickname He Hates?](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2026\/03\/06\/magazine\/nicknames-jouglas-hodgman-quiz.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/12\/magazine\/Mag-Hodgman-1\/Mag-Hodgman-1-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Illustration by Louise Zergaeng Pomeroy\n- [My Aging Mother Won’t Stop Driving. Should I Take Away Her Keys?](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/28\/magazine\/aging-mother-driving-ethics.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/28\/magazine\/28mag-ethicist\/28mag-ethicist-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Illustration by Tomi Um\n\n### Editors’ Picks\n- [Seat 11A: The Windowless Inside Joke at 30,000 Feet](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/07\/us\/seat-11a-no-window-ryanair-airlines.html)\n  \n  ![On certain Boeing 737 and Airbus A321 jets, row 11 offers a seat sold as a window view that shows, instead, a wall. The discovery tends to arrive after boarding.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/26\/multimedia\/00xp-Seat11A-cvmj\/00xp-Seat11A-cvmj-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Shutterstock\n- [Can a Bride Ban a Hairstyle?](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/06\/style\/wedding-planning-bridesmaid-hair-rules.html)\n  \n  ![A TikTok debate erupted after a bride said she was banning the slicked-back bun from her bridesmaids’ hairstyles.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/08\/multimedia\/08ST-SBB-WEDDINGS-bmhg\/08ST-SBB-WEDDINGS-bmhg-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Getty Images\n\n### Trending in The Times\n- [Tatjana Wood, Award-Winning Comic Book Colorist, Dies at 99](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/07\/arts\/tatjana-wood-dead.html)\n  \n  ![Tatjana Wood around 1950. Anyone who laid eyes on a DC Comics cover from 1973 to 1983 likely saw an example of her work.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/07\/multimedia\/07Wood--01-jlmc\/07Wood--01-jlmc-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  The Wallace Wood Estate\n- [Kristi Noem Survived Many Crises. Then She Crossed a Trump Red Line.](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/06\/us\/politics\/trump-noem.html)\n  \n  ![Kristi Noem testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, where her comments led the president to fire her later in the week.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/06\/multimedia\/06dc-trump-noem-gmpc\/06dc-trump-noem-gmpc-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Tierney L. Cross\/The New York Times\n- [A Head of State, a Rock Star and Oprah Walk Into a Palace](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/06\/style\/stella-mccartney-legion-dhonneur-emmanuel-macron-paris.html)\n  \n  ![President Emmanuel Macron bestowing the French Legion of Honor medal on Stella McCartney.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/07\/multimedia\/07ST-MCCARTNEY--01-ghmt\/07ST-MCCARTNEY--01-ghmt-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Matteo Prandoni\/BFA.com\n- [Is This Treadmill Walking Trend Good for Your Fitness?](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/06\/well\/move\/12-3-30-treadmill-workout-trend.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/06\/well\/06WELL-TREADMILL-TREND2\/06WELL-TREADMILL-TREND2-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Getty Images\n- [Opinion: There Is One Crucial Reason We’re Talking About Boots on the Ground](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/07\/opinion\/trump-iran-nuclear-weapons-enriched-uranium-war.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/07\/opinion\/07calabresi-hennigan-image\/07calabresi-hennigan-image-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Illustration by Sam Whitney\/The New York Times\n- [At Least 6 Dead as Tornadoes Slam Michigan and Oklahoma](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/06\/weather\/storm-forecast-missouri-kansas-oklahoma.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/06\/arts\/Tornado-Thumb2\/Tornado-Thumb2-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Lindsey Whitaker\n- [The State of U.S. Markets](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/video\/us\/100000010755999\/the-state-of-us-markets.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/06\/arts\/RV_Thumbnail\/RV_Thumbnail-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n- [Bruce Froemming, a Durable, No-Nonsense Umpire, Dies at 86](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/04\/sports\/baseball\/bruce-froemming-dead.html)\n  \n  ![Bruce Froemming during his last game as a major league umpire, on Aug. 15, 2007, at Yankee Stadium. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/05\/multimedia\/03Froemming--qzvt-print7\/03Froemming--qzvt-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Uli Seit for The New York Times\n- [The Allure of ‘Slop Bowls’ Fades as Consumers Tighten Spending](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/06\/business\/chipotle-cava-sweetgreen-bowl-sales-prices.html)\n  \n  ![Consumers are growing weary of healthy-but-kinda-mushy meals.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/26\/business\/00biz-bowl-bust\/00biz-bowl-bust-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Natalie Keyssar for The New York Times\n- [I Make Connections. Here’s What I’m Actually Thinking.](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/07\/insider\/nyt-connections-game-writer-wyna-liu.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/07\/pageoneplus\/07-insider-connections\/07-insider-connections-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  An Chen\n\nAdvertisement\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/05\/20\/magazine\/singapore-coronavirus.html#after-bottom)\n\n## Site Index\n[Go to Home Page »](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/)\n\nNews\n\n- [Home Page](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/)\n- [U.S.](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/us)\n- [World](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/world)\n- [Politics](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/politics)\n- [New York](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/nyregion)\n- [Education](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/education)\n- [Sports](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/sports)\n- [Business](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/business)\n- 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Then the government was blindsided by an outbreak among poor migrant workers in packed dormitories.\n\n![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2020\/05\/20\/magazine\/20Singapore-mag-01\/20Singapore-mag-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nSingapore on April 7.Credit...Then Chih Wey\/Xinhua News Agency\/Eyevine, via Redux\n\nPublished May 20, 2020Updated June 23, 2020\n\nI remember that time when we’d beaten the pandemic. That’s what we thought, anyway, for a few weeks in late winter: That [Singapore](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/06\/23\/world\/asia\/singapore-elections-coronavirus.html) had conquered the novel [coronavirus](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/06\/23\/world\/asia\/singapore-elections-coronavirus.html) without lockdowns or widespread mask use, without even closing the schools.\n\nThe first known cases came into the city with Chinese tourists in January and trickled slowly through the community, sending out waves of fear. Each day added a handful of new confirmed cases to the running tally — three one day, seven the next, then three again and so on. But somehow the pandemic never mushroomed the way we had feared it would. After two months, there were 509 confirmed cases, and only two people had died. Cinemas and bars had stayed open, restaurants and open-air food courts were crowded and people still browsed malls and markets. Testing was relatively sparse; we were instructed not to wear masks unless we were ill; there was no lockdown. The government pushed homespun common sense — lots of reminders to wash hands and stay home if sick. At the same time, it leveraged the tight controls for which Singapore is known — elaborate surveillance, police investigators, the threat of criminal prosecution — to trace and isolate anybody who caught the virus or had been in close contact with a confirmed patient.\n\nFor a time, that seemed to work. To an outsider, this may sound naïve — that a pandemic could be fended off with soap and spying. But sitting in Singapore, a big city where you can leave your door unlocked and jaywalking is taboo, it didn’t seem far-fetched that the government had controlled a fearsome new disease with the same tools it used to control its residents: pragmatism, efficiency and extreme surveillance. It appeared that the virus was passing us by; that the infections would sputter along at a low level and finally disappear altogether. As apocalyptic outbreaks erupted in parts of Europe and the United States, the juxtaposition between our lives and the images of death we saw on the news suffused the city with a sort of dreamlike unease. The coffee shops and subway cars were crowded, but, as far as we knew, the virus was hardly spreading. Could it really be this easy?\n\n[Subscribe to The Times](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=8WXW7) to read as many articles as you like.\n\n## Related Content\n[Coronavirus (US)](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/spotlight\/coronavirus)\n\nThe number of known coronavirus cases in the United States continues to grow rapidly. Follow here for live coverage, analysis and explanatory journalism.\n\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/02\/01\/multimedia\/25vaccine-side-effects-barcavage-zwcp\/25vaccine-side-effects-barcavage-zwcp-thumbLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Hannah Yoon for The New York Times\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/26\/multimedia\/00vaccine-takeaways-fwlq\/00vaccine-takeaways-fwlq-thumbLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Hilary Swift for The New York Times\n- Jennifer Caldwell\n\n[More in Magazine](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/magazine)\n\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/14\/magazine\/14mag-ethicist\/14mag-ethicist-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Illustration by Tomi Um\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/15\/magazine\/15mag-interview-solnit-03\/15mag-interview-solnit-03-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Devin Oktar Yalkin for The New York Times\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2019\/02\/12\/magazine\/Mag-Hodgman-1\/Mag-Hodgman-1-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Illustration by Louise Zergaeng Pomeroy\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/28\/magazine\/28mag-ethicist\/28mag-ethicist-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Illustration by Tomi Um\n\nEditors’ Picks\n\n- ![On certain Boeing 737 and Airbus A321 jets, row 11 offers a seat sold as a window view that shows, instead, a wall. The discovery tends to arrive after boarding.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/26\/multimedia\/00xp-Seat11A-cvmj\/00xp-Seat11A-cvmj-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Shutterstock\n- ![A TikTok debate erupted after a bride said she was banning the slicked-back bun from her bridesmaids’ hairstyles.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/08\/multimedia\/08ST-SBB-WEDDINGS-bmhg\/08ST-SBB-WEDDINGS-bmhg-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Getty Images\n\nTrending in The Times\n\n- ![Tatjana Wood around 1950. Anyone who laid eyes on a DC Comics cover from 1973 to 1983 likely saw an example of her work.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/07\/multimedia\/07Wood--01-jlmc\/07Wood--01-jlmc-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  The Wallace Wood Estate\n- ![Kristi Noem testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, where her comments led the president to fire her later in the week.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/06\/multimedia\/06dc-trump-noem-gmpc\/06dc-trump-noem-gmpc-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Tierney L. Cross\/The New York Times\n- ![President Emmanuel Macron bestowing the French Legion of Honor medal on Stella McCartney.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/07\/multimedia\/07ST-MCCARTNEY--01-ghmt\/07ST-MCCARTNEY--01-ghmt-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Matteo Prandoni\/BFA.com\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/06\/well\/06WELL-TREADMILL-TREND2\/06WELL-TREADMILL-TREND2-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Getty Images\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/07\/opinion\/07calabresi-hennigan-image\/07calabresi-hennigan-image-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Illustration by Sam Whitney\/The New York Times\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/06\/arts\/Tornado-Thumb2\/Tornado-Thumb2-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Lindsey Whitaker\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/06\/arts\/RV_Thumbnail\/RV_Thumbnail-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n- ![Bruce Froemming during his last game as a major league umpire, on Aug. 15, 2007, at Yankee Stadium. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/05\/multimedia\/03Froemming--qzvt-print7\/03Froemming--qzvt-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Uli Seit for The New York Times\n- ![Consumers are growing weary of healthy-but-kinda-mushy meals.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/26\/business\/00biz-bowl-bust\/00biz-bowl-bust-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Natalie Keyssar for The New York Times\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/07\/pageoneplus\/07-insider-connections\/07-insider-connections-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  An Chen\n\nAdvertisement\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/05\/20\/magazine\/singapore-coronavirus.html#after-bottom)","meta_canonical":null}

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Meta Title	A Sudden Coronavirus Surge Brought Out Singapore’s Dark Side - The New York Times
Meta Description	The pandemic seemed to pass over the city-state. Then the government was blindsided by an outbreak among poor migrant workers in packed dormitories.
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Boilerpipe Text	Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT The pandemic seemed to pass over the city-state. Then the government was blindsided by an outbreak among poor migrant workers in packed dormitories. Singapore on April 7. Credit... Then Chih Wey/Xinhua News Agency/Eyevine, via Redux Published May 20, 2020 Updated June 23, 2020 I remember that time when we’d beaten the pandemic. That’s what we thought, anyway, for a few weeks in late winter: That Singapore had conquered the novel coronavirus without lockdowns or widespread mask use, without even closing the schools. The first known cases came into the city with Chinese tourists in January and trickled slowly through the community, sending out waves of fear. Each day added a handful of new confirmed cases to the running tally — three one day, seven the next, then three again and so on. But somehow the pandemic never mushroomed the way we had feared it would. After two months, there were 509 confirmed cases, and only two people had died. Cinemas and bars had stayed open, restaurants and open-air food courts were crowded and people still browsed malls and markets. Testing was relatively sparse; we were instructed not to wear masks unless we were ill; there was no lockdown. The government pushed homespun common sense — lots of reminders to wash hands and stay home if sick. At the same time, it leveraged the tight controls for which Singapore is known — elaborate surveillance, police investigators, the threat of criminal prosecution — to trace and isolate anybody who caught the virus or had been in close contact with a confirmed patient. For a time, that seemed to work. To an outsider, this may sound naïve — that a pandemic could be fended off with soap and spying. But sitting in Singapore, a big city where you can leave your door unlocked and jaywalking is taboo, it didn’t seem far-fetched that the government had controlled a fearsome new disease with the same tools it used to control its residents: pragmatism, efficiency and extreme surveillance. It appeared that the virus was passing us by; that the infections would sputter along at a low level and finally disappear altogether. As apocalyptic outbreaks erupted in parts of Europe and the United States, the juxtaposition between our lives and the images of death we saw on the news suffused the city with a sort of dreamlike unease. The coffee shops and subway cars were crowded, but, as far as we knew, the virus was hardly spreading. Could it really be this easy? Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like. Related Content Coronavirus (US) The number of known coronavirus cases in the United States continues to grow rapidly. Follow here for live coverage, analysis and explanatory journalism. Hannah Yoon for The New York Times Hilary Swift for The New York Times Jennifer Caldwell More in Magazine Illustration by Tomi Um Devin Oktar Yalkin for The New York Times Illustration by Louise Zergaeng Pomeroy Illustration by Tomi Um Editors’ Picks Shutterstock Getty Images Trending in The Times The Wallace Wood Estate Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times Matteo Prandoni/BFA.com Getty Images Illustration by Sam Whitney/The New York Times Lindsey Whitaker Uli Seit for The New York Times Natalie Keyssar for The New York Times An Chen Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
Markdown	[Skip to content](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/magazine/singapore-coronavirus.html#site-content)[Skip to site index](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/magazine/singapore-coronavirus.html#site-index) Search & Section Navigation Section Navigation Search [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fsubscription%2Fonboarding-offer%3FcampaignId%3D7JFJX%26EXIT_URI%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.nytimes.com%252F2020%252F05%252F20%252Fmagazine%252Fsingapore-coronavirus.html&asset=masthead) Saturday, March 7, 2026 [Today’s Paper](https://www.nytimes.com/section/todayspaper) [Magazine](https://www.nytimes.com/section/magazine)\\|A Sudden Coronavirus Surge Brought Out Singapore’s Dark Side https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/magazine/singapore-coronavirus.html - Share full article Advertisement [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/magazine/singapore-coronavirus.html#after-top) Supported by [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/magazine/singapore-coronavirus.html#after-sponsor) # A Sudden Coronavirus Surge Brought Out Singapore’s Dark Side The pandemic seemed to pass over the city-state. Then the government was blindsided by an outbreak among poor migrant workers in packed dormitories. - Share full article ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/05/20/magazine/20Singapore-mag-01/20Singapore-mag-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Singapore on April 7.Credit...Then Chih Wey/Xinhua News Agency/Eyevine, via Redux By Megan K. Stack Published May 20, 2020Updated June 23, 2020 I remember that time when we’d beaten the pandemic. That’s what we thought, anyway, for a few weeks in late winter: That [Singapore](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/world/asia/singapore-elections-coronavirus.html) had conquered the novel [coronavirus](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/world/asia/singapore-elections-coronavirus.html) without lockdowns or widespread mask use, without even closing the schools. The first known cases came into the city with Chinese tourists in January and trickled slowly through the community, sending out waves of fear. Each day added a handful of new confirmed cases to the running tally — three one day, seven the next, then three again and so on. But somehow the pandemic never mushroomed the way we had feared it would. After two months, there were 509 confirmed cases, and only two people had died. Cinemas and bars had stayed open, restaurants and open-air food courts were crowded and people still browsed malls and markets. Testing was relatively sparse; we were instructed not to wear masks unless we were ill; there was no lockdown. The government pushed homespun common sense — lots of reminders to wash hands and stay home if sick. At the same time, it leveraged the tight controls for which Singapore is known — elaborate surveillance, police investigators, the threat of criminal prosecution — to trace and isolate anybody who caught the virus or had been in close contact with a confirmed patient. For a time, that seemed to work. To an outsider, this may sound naïve — that a pandemic could be fended off with soap and spying. But sitting in Singapore, a big city where you can leave your door unlocked and jaywalking is taboo, it didn’t seem far-fetched that the government had controlled a fearsome new disease with the same tools it used to control its residents: pragmatism, efficiency and extreme surveillance. It appeared that the virus was passing us by; that the infections would sputter along at a low level and finally disappear altogether. As apocalyptic outbreaks erupted in parts of Europe and the United States, the juxtaposition between our lives and the images of death we saw on the news suffused the city with a sort of dreamlike unease. The coffee shops and subway cars were crowded, but, as far as we knew, the virus was hardly spreading. Could it really be this easy? [Subscribe to The Times](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=8WXW7) to read as many articles as you like. - Share full article ## Related Content ### [Coronavirus (US)](https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/coronavirus) The number of known coronavirus cases in the United States continues to grow rapidly. Follow here for live coverage, analysis and explanatory journalism. - [Thousands Believe Covid Vaccines Harmed Them. Is Anyone Listening?](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/03/health/covid-vaccines-side-effects.html) ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/02/01/multimedia/25vaccine-side-effects-barcavage-zwcp/25vaccine-side-effects-barcavage-zwcp-thumbLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Hannah Yoon for The New York Times - [Covid Vaccine Side Effects: 4 Takeaways From Our Investigation](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/03/health/covid-vaccine-side-effects-takeaways.html) ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/04/26/multimedia/00vaccine-takeaways-fwlq/00vaccine-takeaways-fwlq-thumbLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Hilary Swift for The New York Times - [Study of Patients With a Chronic Fatigue Condition May Offer Clues to Long Covid](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/health/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-long-covid.html) Jennifer Caldwell ### [More in Magazine](https://www.nytimes.com/section/magazine) - [My Sister’s Crime Shattered Our Family. Do I Have to Help Her?](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/magazine/sisters-crime-family-ethics.html) ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/03/14/magazine/14mag-ethicist/14mag-ethicist-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Illustration by Tomi Um - [Rebecca Solnit Says the Left’s Next Hero Is Already Here](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/magazine/rebecca-solnit-interview.html) ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/03/15/magazine/15mag-interview-solnit-03/15mag-interview-solnit-03-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Devin Oktar Yalkin for The New York Times - [Can I Call My Husband a Nickname He Hates?](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/03/06/magazine/nicknames-jouglas-hodgman-quiz.html) ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/02/12/magazine/Mag-Hodgman-1/Mag-Hodgman-1-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Illustration by Louise Zergaeng Pomeroy - [My Aging Mother Won’t Stop Driving. Should I Take Away Her Keys?](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/28/magazine/aging-mother-driving-ethics.html) ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/02/28/magazine/28mag-ethicist/28mag-ethicist-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Illustration by Tomi Um ### Editors’ Picks - [Seat 11A: The Windowless Inside Joke at 30,000 Feet](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/us/seat-11a-no-window-ryanair-airlines.html) ![On certain Boeing 737 and Airbus A321 jets, row 11 offers a seat sold as a window view that shows, instead, a wall. The discovery tends to arrive after boarding.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/02/26/multimedia/00xp-Seat11A-cvmj/00xp-Seat11A-cvmj-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Shutterstock - [Can a Bride Ban a Hairstyle?](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/style/wedding-planning-bridesmaid-hair-rules.html) ![A TikTok debate erupted after a bride said she was banning the slicked-back bun from her bridesmaids’ hairstyles.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/03/08/multimedia/08ST-SBB-WEDDINGS-bmhg/08ST-SBB-WEDDINGS-bmhg-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Getty Images ### Trending in The Times - [Tatjana Wood, Award-Winning Comic Book Colorist, Dies at 99](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/arts/tatjana-wood-dead.html) ![Tatjana Wood around 1950. 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Readable Markdown	Advertisement [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/magazine/singapore-coronavirus.html#after-top) The pandemic seemed to pass over the city-state. Then the government was blindsided by an outbreak among poor migrant workers in packed dormitories. ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/05/20/magazine/20Singapore-mag-01/20Singapore-mag-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Singapore on April 7.Credit...Then Chih Wey/Xinhua News Agency/Eyevine, via Redux Published May 20, 2020Updated June 23, 2020 I remember that time when we’d beaten the pandemic. That’s what we thought, anyway, for a few weeks in late winter: That [Singapore](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/world/asia/singapore-elections-coronavirus.html) had conquered the novel [coronavirus](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/world/asia/singapore-elections-coronavirus.html) without lockdowns or widespread mask use, without even closing the schools. The first known cases came into the city with Chinese tourists in January and trickled slowly through the community, sending out waves of fear. Each day added a handful of new confirmed cases to the running tally — three one day, seven the next, then three again and so on. But somehow the pandemic never mushroomed the way we had feared it would. After two months, there were 509 confirmed cases, and only two people had died. Cinemas and bars had stayed open, restaurants and open-air food courts were crowded and people still browsed malls and markets. Testing was relatively sparse; we were instructed not to wear masks unless we were ill; there was no lockdown. The government pushed homespun common sense — lots of reminders to wash hands and stay home if sick. At the same time, it leveraged the tight controls for which Singapore is known — elaborate surveillance, police investigators, the threat of criminal prosecution — to trace and isolate anybody who caught the virus or had been in close contact with a confirmed patient. For a time, that seemed to work. To an outsider, this may sound naïve — that a pandemic could be fended off with soap and spying. But sitting in Singapore, a big city where you can leave your door unlocked and jaywalking is taboo, it didn’t seem far-fetched that the government had controlled a fearsome new disease with the same tools it used to control its residents: pragmatism, efficiency and extreme surveillance. It appeared that the virus was passing us by; that the infections would sputter along at a low level and finally disappear altogether. As apocalyptic outbreaks erupted in parts of Europe and the United States, the juxtaposition between our lives and the images of death we saw on the news suffused the city with a sort of dreamlike unease. The coffee shops and subway cars were crowded, but, as far as we knew, the virus was hardly spreading. Could it really be this easy? [Subscribe to The Times](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=8WXW7) to read as many articles as you like. ## Related Content [Coronavirus (US)](https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/coronavirus) The number of known coronavirus cases in the United States continues to grow rapidly. Follow here for live coverage, analysis and explanatory journalism. - ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/02/01/multimedia/25vaccine-side-effects-barcavage-zwcp/25vaccine-side-effects-barcavage-zwcp-thumbLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Hannah Yoon for The New York Times - ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/04/26/multimedia/00vaccine-takeaways-fwlq/00vaccine-takeaways-fwlq-thumbLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Hilary Swift for The New York Times - Jennifer Caldwell [More in Magazine](https://www.nytimes.com/section/magazine) - ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/03/14/magazine/14mag-ethicist/14mag-ethicist-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Illustration by Tomi Um - ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/03/15/magazine/15mag-interview-solnit-03/15mag-interview-solnit-03-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Devin Oktar Yalkin for The New York Times - ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/02/12/magazine/Mag-Hodgman-1/Mag-Hodgman-1-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Illustration by Louise Zergaeng Pomeroy - ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/02/28/magazine/28mag-ethicist/28mag-ethicist-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Illustration by Tomi Um Editors’ Picks - ![On certain Boeing 737 and Airbus A321 jets, row 11 offers a seat sold as a window view that shows, instead, a wall. The discovery tends to arrive after boarding.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/02/26/multimedia/00xp-Seat11A-cvmj/00xp-Seat11A-cvmj-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Shutterstock - ![A TikTok debate erupted after a bride said she was banning the slicked-back bun from her bridesmaids’ hairstyles.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/03/08/multimedia/08ST-SBB-WEDDINGS-bmhg/08ST-SBB-WEDDINGS-bmhg-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Getty Images Trending in The Times - ![Tatjana Wood around 1950. Anyone who laid eyes on a DC Comics cover from 1973 to 1983 likely saw an example of her work.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/03/07/multimedia/07Wood--01-jlmc/07Wood--01-jlmc-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350) The Wallace Wood Estate - ![Kristi Noem testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, where her comments led the president to fire her later in the week.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/03/06/multimedia/06dc-trump-noem-gmpc/06dc-trump-noem-gmpc-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350) Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times - ![President Emmanuel Macron bestowing the French Legion of Honor medal on Stella McCartney.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/03/07/multimedia/07ST-MCCARTNEY--01-ghmt/07ST-MCCARTNEY--01-ghmt-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350) Matteo Prandoni/BFA.com - ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/03/06/well/06WELL-TREADMILL-TREND2/06WELL-TREADMILL-TREND2-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350) Getty Images - ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/03/07/opinion/07calabresi-hennigan-image/07calabresi-hennigan-image-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350) Illustration by Sam Whitney/The New York Times - ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/03/06/arts/Tornado-Thumb2/Tornado-Thumb2-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350) Lindsey Whitaker - ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/03/06/arts/RV_Thumbnail/RV_Thumbnail-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350) - ![Bruce Froemming during his last game as a major league umpire, on Aug. 15, 2007, at Yankee Stadium. ](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/03/05/multimedia/03Froemming--qzvt-print7/03Froemming--qzvt-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350) Uli Seit for The New York Times - ![Consumers are growing weary of healthy-but-kinda-mushy meals.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/02/26/business/00biz-bowl-bust/00biz-bowl-bust-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350) Natalie Keyssar for The New York Times - ![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/03/07/pageoneplus/07-insider-connections/07-insider-connections-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350) An Chen Advertisement [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/magazine/singapore-coronavirus.html#after-bottom)
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