Man Suspected Of Having Covid-19 In Awe Of NCID Staff’s Work Ethic, Urges All To Practise Social Distancing For Their Sake
Singapore’s response to Covid-19 has received international acclaim on multiple occasions.
Whether it’s research, contact tracing or healthcare workers, Singapore has definitely made an impression as one of the world leaders in the Covid-19 battle.
Recently, yet another person has come forward to applaud the professionalism and efficiency of the medical workers and staff who saw to him as he was tested for Covid-19 and warded at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).
He related his entire experience in a Facebook post, gushing about the medical workers and staff throughout.
As he was told “no pictures, no video” multiple times throughout his visit, we don’t have any visuals, but his colourful recount makes up for that.
Check out the post below.
Sent to NCID as he was high-risk
The netizen shared that he visited a clinic on Monday (23 Mar) for a sudden high fever before being whisked away to NCID.
Apparently, he had been in “home quarantine” for 15 days as he had travelled to South Korea and Canada with his family. He mentioned someone named “Leslie” — possibly his partner — who returned from New York during the quarantine period, and was also served a Stay-Home Notice.
For illustration purposes only
Source
Since he and his family had all travelled recently, they were classified as high risk.
Once he told his doctor of his situation, he was “thrown into an experience like no other” as he was rushed to the NCID immediately.
Ambulance picked him up from mall
According to his post, his doctor “jumped into action” merely “seconds” after he finished explaining his situation.
Amazingly, as he was ushered to isolation, the office he had just visited was shut down for decontamination:
I was rushed into a back isolation room while the staff closed the office for decontamination. I could hear tons of commotion, cleaning, and calls being made to a central body, the mall and the ambulance dispatch.
He was evacuated through a back exit — which was disinfected — and picked up by an ambulance.
Apparently, 2 more potential Covid-19 patients were picked up on their way to NCID.
“200 ambulances” in front of patient’s at NCID
As he reached the NCID, he allegedly saw “200 ambulances” ahead of the one he was in.
We don’t know if he was exaggerating, but it obviously made an impression on him.
The only photo that he attached showed 2 of the ambulances:
Blown away by efficiency of NCID
He then proceeded to be blown away by the efficiency of the procedures at NCID.
Once he stepped out of the ambulance, he was met with a social distancing queue, as “there were X’s that mark the spot where (patients) (were) allowed to stand”.
That was his first round of screening. By this point, he’d been running a fever for 6 hours and had not taken any medication for it yet, so he was marked “high-risk” and taken to what is presumably the “high-risk individuals” zone.
In the room, he was given paperwork to fill in, and he remarked that he was asked for no payment details or insurance policies.
He filled it in as he waited his turn to have his lungs x-rayed. There were apparently around 30 other individuals in the room with different levels of symptoms, but they were all classified as “high-risk”.
After a 6-hour wait, he was told that x-ray showed pneumonia in his lungs, and was then immediately warded in a private isolation room.
In his room — which he shared was “one of the most clean, modern and organized hospital rooms” he had ever seen — he was swabbed to test for Covid-19 and hooked up to a blood oxygen monitor.
His tumultuous day finally came to a close at around 3.30am on Tuesday (24 Mar) morning.
Tested negative for Covid-19 twice, diagnosed with pneumonia
12 hours later, his first Covid-19 test returned with negative results.
Still, he had pneumonia and doctors were “taking no chances”, so he was swabbed and tested a second time round at 3am on Wednesday (25 Mar).
He tested negative again, but as he said Covid-19 is “tricky” and doctors were still taking no risks, he was x-rayed again to check on his lungs.
He was particularly impressed by the radiologist, who he wrote was “cheery and professional” though he had to wheel in a large x-ray machine and then disinfect it and himself after he had taken the x-rays.
As the concluded his post, he wrote that he was still warded and would be swabbed again at 3am on Thursday (26 Mar).
Hopefully, his test results come out negative again, and his lung condition improves.
In awe of NCID staff’s professionalism and work ethic
Like the radiologist, all the staff who attended to the patient amazed him with their composure and competence.
From the doctor springing into action within seconds, to those who tested him and even other workers on the sidelines attending to other patients, the patient was in awe that they were “calm, deliberate, organized and professional” despite the busy and stressful situation.
They carried out every task with efficiency and precision, and took precautions like changing their protective gear and disinfecting themselves after checking in on the patient very seriously.
Here’s what he had to say about the disinfection process,
Every time someone comes in, they have to go through the whole process of disinfection. The amount of protective gear they go through, just to support me is unbelievable. I feel guilty, as you hope that they are safe. As they risk getting infected themselves, ALL of them are cheery, calm and professional. I can’t imagine the stress they are going through, yet none of them show it.
Clearly, he was moved by their dedication to their work, as well as their genuine desire to keep people safe from Covid-19.
He also noted the staff’s determination to contain the virus, adding:
They are only concerned with the virus… They are doing everything to ensure the safety of the citizens, protection of the economy and that they are going to what it takes to end the spread.
Urged others to take social distancing seriously
While Singapore’s healthcare system was “like no other (he) (had) witnessed”, he was still aware that it’s not without its limits.
The system here in Singapore is beyond amazing to witness. But there is a limit to its capacity.
As he marveled at our system, he also noted that other countries may not be able to cope in the same way. Thus, he urged people to observe social distancing for the sake of medical staff:
For societies and people who are taking the social distancing as a joke, get your act together. If you saw what is going on the inside, you’d sober up quite quickly on the reality that our medical systems face. So stop posting garbage that dimensions this pandemic. It’s real, it’s intense, people are dying and the medical staff are risking their lives to save yours.
We can’t afford to be complacent
Though our healthcare system is undeniably advanced and is currently managing the Covid-19 situation well, it has a threshold that we may very well be pushing to its limit.
We can’t afford to be complacent and ignore social distancing — it just puts others at risk of infection, and heaps more strain on those on the frontline.
These workers are risking their lives for us daily, so it’s only fair that we put up with some minor inconveniences and a temporary lack of entertainment to ensure their well-being too.
Featured image adapted from gov.sg.
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