The Covid-19 virus, like all infectious diseases, does not discriminate. Just last week, we reported that 2 MPs had tested positive for the coronavirus.
On Tuesday (8 Feb), Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen took to Facebook to share his personal encounter with Covid-19.
While he initially experienced mild symptoms like a sore throat and fever, his condition improved after just 2 days.
Dr Ng also took the opportunity to remind others not to take up hospital resources, denying vulnerable patients who might need them more.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday (8 Feb) evening, Dr Ng shared his personal encounter with Covid-19.
Last Friday (4 Feb) started out as a normal day for Dr Ng — he felt “good and energetic” and went for his usual exercise routine.
However, in the evening, Dr Ng’s throat started feeling “raspy” and he subsequently found out that his grandchild had contracted the coronavirus.
Some time later, Dr Ng decided to take an ART which turned out positive.
Dr Ng shared that while he did not experience any fever, he wasn’t able to sleep well either.
The Defence Minister’s condition, however, took a slight turn for the worse on the 2nd day.
Dr Ng shared that his temperature surged to 38.5°C in the morning, but came down after he took some Paracetamol.
He also had other symptoms like a sore throat, congested nasal passages, a heavy head, as well as muscle aches.
Thankfully, his lungs appeared fine. His blood oxygen level was also normal at 98%.
After taking some cough medicine and getting some sleep, Dr Ng woke up feeling better the next day, with symptoms “confined mainly to the throat”.
The body aches and headache that he had earlier subsided. His temperature also came down to 37.5°C.
Of all the symptoms, Dr Ng felt that those affecting his throat were the most “troublesome”. A doctor prior to joining politics, the 63-year-old ‘prescribed’ himself some lozenges and honey ginger tea to soothe his throat.
Unlike many who contracted Covid-19, Dr Ng also shared that his sense of taste and smell weren’t affected.
Even as his throat was screaming in pain, Dr Ng recalled craving for dishes like carrot cake and porridge, which he received via contactless delivery.
Dr Ng’s condition on the 4th day was largely similar to the day before, with symptoms confined to the throat.
Sharing a hilarious anecdote, Dr Ng said he was itching for some exercise but decided against it after being told off by his wife.
He also took his 2nd ART at the 72-hour mark of his infection, but the results remained positive.
On Tuesday (8 Feb), the day which he shared the post, Dr Ng apparently felt the infection subsiding. The ‘positive line’ on his ART, indicating an infection, also appeared “less intense”.
Reflecting on his encounter with Covid-19, Dr Ng said things could’ve turned out differently if he had been infected 2 years ago while still unvaccinated.
But having been inoculated and boosted, the intimidating infection was ‘tamed’ to just a bad sore throat.
He also pointed out the importance of not taking up precious resources in our hospitals, which might deny vulnerable individuals the opportunity.
Ending his post, Dr Ng shared that he will follow Protocol 2 and continue working from home with the aid of telecommunication technology.
Kudos to Dr Ng for sharing his own experience battling Covid-19. Hopefully, this could quell the anxiety faced by infected individuals and other members of the public.
Since the risk of infection is present for everyone, it goes without saying that we ought to take safety measures seriously and practise social responsibility to keep everyone safe.
We wish Dr Ng a speedy recovery and hope his ‘double parking line’ will revert to a singular one soon.
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Featured image adapted from Ng Eng Hen on Facebook and Facebook.
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