TL;DR – Sibeh proud sia.
I cannot emphasize how mad thankful I am to be born a Singaporean.
Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, I am extremely glad to be living in Singapore because I know how super-efficient our authorities are at contact tracing, and how the authorities are stepping up to contain the spread.
On top of that, in Singapore, one can always be assured that he/she will receive proper care should the person get infected with the virus.
Earlier this week, we wrote about a Chinese national who recounted his 48-hour quarantine experience as a “high-risk” suspect case at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).
Recently, a post making its rounds on social media has yet again proven this fact.
On Feb 14, one Singaporean woman, Joyce Chan, took to her social media to document her experience as well as a blow-by-blow process of what patients go through at the NCID in a bid to help more people understand, and to give people greater peace of mind.
It all started with a cough
In the post which has since garnered more than 6,000 shares and 3,000 likes, Chan shared that she had initially visited the doctor on Valentine’s Day morning after suffering from a persistent cough.
However, things took a “completely unexpected” turn when Chan was sent straight to the NCID from the clinic via an ambulance.
Chan intended to make her way to the NCID on her own, however, the doctor at the clinic insisted an ambulance would be called to ferry her over instead.
On her way to the hospital via the ambulance, Chan shared that she was “really impressed with the levels of alertness frontline medical staff are displaying” and that she has “full faith in the medical personnel of Singapore”.
Super organised and systematic
Upon arriving at the NCID, Chan gushed about how organised and systematic the centre was.
She has nothing but praises for the healthcare workers too,
“The medical staff were super attentive and noted the time I visited the doctor’s earlier. They asked if I had my breakfast and provided me with porridge when I told them that I haven’t.”
“Sibeh love sia.”
NCID is SUPER safe
Chan shared she’d heard that people are now less willing to seek treatment even when they are unwell as they fear being sent to NCID.
In response to this, she assured Singaporeans that the protocols in NCID are “SUPER safe” and hence, give her faith in Singapore’s healthcare system.
Chan noted that all healthcare workers were in personal protective gear, and all patients were also given a mask.
Patients were seated far apart from each other while being assessed and while waiting for the next step.
She also observed that there is no way for one to have physical contact with another patient throughout the entire process in NCID.
Medical equipment were also thoroughly disinfected before being used by another patient.
Each and every single seat and table were also disinfected after patients were discharged or moved to a ward.
Chan was eventually discharged with medication after discovering that she’s indeed suffering from a cough and not COVID-19.
Conclusion
Looking back, Chan said she was glad that Singapore has preferred to err on the side of caution at times like this, even though it’s a lot of trouble to go through for a mere cough.
And even though Chan initially found the trip to NCID troublesome and was even slightly alarmed, Chan said she was “assured so many times and did not feel panicky at all.” As such, she urged for those who are sick to seek treatment instead of potentially passing any virus on to others.
The experience she had at NCID puts her at ease that the government and medical staff are well equipped, and it gives her “100% confidence in Singapore’s preparedness to contain and deal with the current #Covid19 situation (or coronavirus / wuhan virus / 2019-nCoV).”
Towards the end of her post and in a tribute to the medical team at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the Raffles Medical Group, Chan prompted,
“This is not the time to panic, Singapore. This is the time to show responsibility, gratitude, appreciation and support.”
Singapore has a high record of COVID-19 cases. Are we more dangerous, virus-wise?
