Ah, the holidays. Once upon a time, I would get to sleep in, read, write, or do whatever crafts that came to mind. No way, Jose, once you work shifts, everyday is a working day, depending when you get your days off. No matter how you look at it, I actually enjoy morning shifts, because I get to see my friends, colleagues and doctors in the morning. Evening not much, and night time makes me sad, hence why I keep myself occupied with my writings, readings, drawings, and music (It's a must, I work well with rock music) and tea, loads and loads of tea (I don't drink coffee, so it's a good substitute)
Why do I get a lot weird enquiries? "Can I know the brand of your lab equipment?" Genuine question here: Why? I mentioned in a previous blog post that the main difference is basically depending on how sensitive the machines are to detect the results. Oh, here's another one: If my antibody test, is there any other tests I should do. Let's get this straight: If you are planning to go for covid swabs, I recommend you to go for the RT-PCR Test because it is considered the gold standard as stated by the Ministry of Health. RTK-Antigen and Antibody are baseline screening tests, assuming they are positive, you will be required to do RT-PCR as a confirmation. Most air flights also requires a valid RT-PCR Test, although some may require you to a RTK-Antigen Test as well. (CHECK YOUR FLIGHT POLICY)
Speaking of air flights, I feel like a calculator. It's another hot topic enquiry that tends to come in. I'm forced to count on behalf. At the end of the day, the healthcare facilities job is only to do the covid test. The validity of the covid test depends on the flight you take. This is why I stressed several times to please check your air flight policy as different air flights have different policy, not to mention if you are taking inter-changing flights. Safest route will usually be 24 hours before your flight, but again, I cannot stress this highly enough, PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR AIR FLIGHT POLICY FIRST. Me thinks they are getting a little better at this cause now they will at least make effort to show me their air flight policy. Last time I had to get the flight name, destination and had to scour the whole flight website because some of them have weird FAQs. I also gotten a little better with TB screening. The moment someone ask me for TB screening package, I immediately asked, "Are you travelling?" Most of the time it's a yes. Certain countries requires you to go for specific tests, so I get it that people had to question us about certain tests. I know my doctor teased me so often whether I'm on opioids that it became a running joke between us cause I usually looked as though I don't get enough sleep. When you been writing for more 10 years, it tend to mess up your sleep schedule. This is why the last novel I wrote was back in 2018, but I tend to write blogs and short stories to at least keep my mind fresh.
Covid admissions are not cheap. This is one thing I learnt while clerking down several histories. Initially it was fine, but doing it nearly everyday revealed to me the lengths of how some people will go to. I have a lot of people who said (quite confidently) that their insurance can be utilized, but come to the last part: "Oh, I don't think I want to come in anymore." This is why you need to check with your agent and policy. Insurance is a tricky thing that till this day, I'm struggling to understand. If I don't have medical insurance, I wouldn't dare to step foot into private sector, because the bills can be scary. I have people who had called me vulgar names, asked me to go f myself, threatened to get me fired. You know, just a normal day at work. The quarantine centre is depressing, yes, you can find photos of it floating around the internet, so much that people kept hounding us to take them. The problem is it's not easy to get people out. I got colleagues who told me that there are soldiers manning around the place. I know it's difficult, due to the air filters and the subzero temperature, not to mention it's cramp due to limited spaces. The problem is people expect it to be like a normal ward. Covid wards are designed with special air ventilators and to keep the place in negative pressure. I'm not sure how to put it into words, but it's something like when you open the door, the bad air won't escape out of the room, potentially infecting everyone outside. It's not easy to build one, and you need to properly test it first. Here's an example which looks simple to understand:
Covid cases are dropping slowly, which is a good thing, but we're still in the red. Once again, I had a nasty phone call with someone who claimed their covid results is wrong, yet proudly admitted that they went out where they should be self-quarantined. Since they insisted on doing a second test, after checking with the department, they are allowed to come under special circumstances. The part that ticked me off was the person said, "If my second results comes out negative, then it means I can go out like normal, right?" H-How dare you?! In regards to my previous blog posts: It does not matter how many times you take your test. The moment you were tested positive, the Ministry of Health will have your results. You can't run. If you go out without a valid reason (Eg. Seeking treatment due to severe symptoms), you end up getting fined!! The person tried giving the same weak excuse that the result may be false and they want to go back to normal. I'll give you the same advice as I have previously given: You may try calling the CAC to appeal your case, don't you dare go running around till you get your release letter.
Once again, people never fail to astound me. You ran through so much hurdle to finally get your appointment, then told me: "Oh I don't want this brand, can I request for another one?" Mary, Mother of God! My friends are trying to get their vaccines and are practically praying hard that they will get the notification, and you have yours, and you were willing to give it away so easily? I-I can't... Well, since you insisted -
*Today's case: 5,271 (Yay! Keep it up)
