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Voices from the Front Lines: Reflections from a Covid-19 facility this National Day

In this instalment of Voices from the Front Lines, Dr Teresa Wong of the Woodlands Health Campus reflects on the last four months caring for Covid-19 patients at the Singapore Expo’s community care facility.

Dr Teresa Wong of the Woodlands Health Campus.

Dr Teresa Wong of the Woodlands Health Campus.

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As the fight against Covid-19 will be a long-drawn one, TODAY’s Voices section hopes to shine a light on the triumphs and struggles of Singapore’s front-line workers by publishing their first-hand accounts.

In this instalment of Voices from the Front Lines, Dr Teresa Wong of the Woodlands Health Campus reflects on the last four months caring for Covid-19 patients at the Singapore Expo’s community care facility.

The expression “may you live in interesting times” is both a blessing and a curse.

2020 will go down in history as the year that Covid-19 changed our lives forever.

From the near-standstill of the circuit breaker to the cautious freedom of Phase Two of our economic reopening, we are slowly emerging from the uncertainty of the early days and settling into a new normal.

Come National Day on Sunday (Aug 9), it would have been four months since the community care facility at the Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre opened. 

What began as a fear of the unknown has since evolved into confidence in our processes.

The continuous pressure from our N95 masks gave many of us the dreaded “maskne” (acne caused by mask wearing) and pressure sores over our nose bridges.

As a co-worker put it, our aesthetic colleagues could fix our faces when the pandemic blows over. But for now, it was a matter of safety before beauty.

Guided by our infection control nurses, and thanks to the careful management of personal protective equipment, our colleagues and volunteers have thankfully been spared the shortages and concomitant tragedies facing healthcare workers around the globe.

Many of the people who have been working with us from the start have chosen to stay because of the camaraderie and bonds that have been forged.

The residents at the Expo facility are no less excited about Singapore’s birthday despite most of them being non-Singaporean.

They often express their thanks to Singapore for providing them with medical care in these difficult times.

But surely we owe this to the people who have been essential in building Singapore. The unkempt lawns, half-built structures and delayed openings of infrastructural projects are testament to the importance of their work.

While there will be no grand parades through the Expo halls on Aug 9, we hope to celebrate the occasion with them in small ways. We even have an Expo-exclusive version of the National Day Parade goodie bag.

The pandemic has forced Singaporeans to mature socially: Wearing a mask, especially when one is ill, is now par for the course, and it is heartening to see that most people have respected the measures to keep us safe.

On a personal level, I moved out of my family home to a rental property owned by my parents as an extra precaution when I started working at the Expo facility on April 9.

This has accelerated my road to independence. 

The recent months have also given me time to reflect on the beauty of this place I call home and made me treasure the moments I get to see my family these days — from a distance, behind a mask.

This year, I will not be celebrating National Day with my biological family, but with the staff who man the Expo community care facility and its residents as fireworks illuminate the night sky.

This year, I will be celebrating National Day with the rest of Singapore — apart in body, but together in spirit.

ABOUT THE WRITER:

Dr Teresa Wong, 34, is an associate consultant with the department of anaesthesia at the Woodlands Health Campus. She is based in the community care facility at the Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Have views on an issue or a news topic you care about? Send your letter to voices [at] mediacorp.com.sg with your full name, address and phone number.

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Covid-19 coronavirus Woodlands Health Campus healthcare workers doctor

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