Singapore’s Wild Weekend: Coronavirus Panic‑Hoarding Memes Take Over the Net

Singapore’s “Orange” Outbreak: How a Sickness Alert Turned a Weekend into a Supermarket Thriller

What’s the Deal with DORSCON Orange?

Just before the weekend got underway, authorities bumped Singapore’s coronavirus threat level from Yellow to Orange. That’s one rung below a Red situation – so it’s serious, but not yet a full‑blown lockdown.

Essentially, it means the outbreak could have a moderate to high impact on public health. We’ll see things like extra temperature checks in front of venues, tighter quarantine rules, and maybe a few more enough-people-at‑the‑doorways moments. But the country’s not trading the streets for a curfew yet.

Some People Thought The Nation Was In Apocalypse Mode

Unfortunately, a sizeable chunk of the population read the “Orange” flag like a cosmic doom signal. People got nervous and started to mock ‘pre‑apocalypse’ prepping.

What They Started Hoarding

Rice – rice, rice, rice. The very edible backbone of Singaporean meals.
Instant noodles – because you can’t live without the quick rush of flavors.
Toilet paper – apparently everyone foresees a future where bathrooms are in short supply.
Even condoms – one can only imagine the panic that led to that impulse. It might have been a human‑it‑all‑is‑freaking‑fun moment.

Where to Look: Social Media Snaps of “Empty” Aisles

Videos and photos flooded Reddit, TikTok, and other platforms, showing how largely emptied shelves turned into a “last store open” ordeal. People cried out: “The shelves are literally dead — do we need to watch a documentary about the pandemic or a horror movie?” Everywhere, the main scene was a long line of War-torn shoppers staring at the empty racks.

What Did People Do?

They lined up like queuing for the Fun Park of the World.
They whispered about “kiasu” moments – a dramatic and slightly silly panic.
They placed their trust in government rules to protect them from a “Paradoxical apocalypse.”

Take-Away: Stay Calm, Singapore

While the Orange level certainly demands a heightened sense of caution, data shows that panic isn’t the goal. The authorities are inviting the public to keep calm, support one another and keep a hand on the “no panic” button.

So next time you see a government update, think: “this is maybe a call for reason, not an instruction to run to the closet in hopes that the future collapses on us.” We’re one step better than last week, but we’re still an excellent warm loaf of bread waiting for a great meal.

It got to the point that politicians (including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong) had to publicly urge Singaporeans not to hoard groceries and just stop the whole panic buying nonsense.

https://www.facebook.com/tan.chuan.jin/posts/10157039172162992

It really was an ugly display of paranoia, especially when you realise that some folks simply ditched their shopping baskets filled with items after getting tired of being in line for some time.

https://www.facebook.com/meinteel/posts/10157464226061693

The kiasu shenanigans over the weekend proved worthy enough to be the butt of some Internet jokes, which we’ve kindly compiled below. Enjoy. https://www.facebook.com/RiseofTheStrawberryNation/photos/a.1608851479364915/2462942283955826/