20.5.2021

The Self Monitoring 

 

This is the final day of self-monitoring. Received a  flash message on 7^th May 2021 on my phone informing me that I was in close contact with a positive corvid person. No mention of where it took place.Was instructed to go to the My Sejahtera (MS) apps for further details. Went but saw nothing. Emailed them for further inquiries and the message received was to wait . Due to overwhelming response from the public they were not able to give immediate response.  I understood and I waited. 

In the meanwhile I consulted those who have had the experience of being identified as being in close contact. My sister messaged to tell me to go the MS apps and see instructions under the heading “ Things to do” .I went and it was blank. 

Just a couple days ago my husband was informed of  his appointment date for his vaccination .I logged in  on the MS apps to look for any signs of instructions or updates on my conditions. Then some gut feeling told me to delete the apps and reinstall, which I did. And lol and  behold there it was. Dated from the 7^Th May with instructions to report state of self. Any temperature/fever , any cough, flu, any body aches etc. So, ticked, ticked ticked … and submitted. From the 7^thMay to 17^Th May, ticked, ticked and ticked. 

 And since it is  now confirmed that I had been in close contact with a positive person, I decided to take the next step and go for a swab test. Called up the local clinic. Was told test was available  . Asked me which test are you interested in? I asked what is your recommendation? She said the nose swab will do . By the way I discovered later the term was RTK. Another was the PCR ( throat and nose swab)

 

Arrived at the clinic to find a big crowd of people lined up outside the clinic. Saw a lady in full protective  gear taking  samples from those in the queue. Went in, took a wrapped test kit. Joined the queue. In the meanwhile people were streaming in. Overheard someone telling a small girl was identified as positive and was told to immediately to go wait in the car. Nervous, anxious all in. Trying to not focus on the oncoming uncertainty. Struck  a conversation with those in the queue. About 4 of them  were from the bank/finance company. This was not their first time. They do it quite regularly because of their nature of job. And they can claim reimbursement. Its 150RM for the RTK and about 280RM for the PCR. Apparently this clinic offers a good price, a bit lower than other clinics, so they told me. 

My turn came. I submitted my nose for that dig. It was not bad at all.  Not what I expected. No pain! She was swift . It was over within 10 seconds. 

 

Then I moved into the clinic to join the queue for results and payment. It was long. People tried their best to keep to the SOP, the distancing. But of course there were slacks here and there. After about 20 minutes I reached the counter. Paid for the test and was told to go to the next counter to get a printed copy of the result. In the meanwhile, a nurse was scuttling to and fro looking for a named person . He was tested positive. She called out his name many times and still no  signs of him. Perhaps he must have gone for his breakfast since he saw the queue  for the results was pretty long. That was our speculation!

 

Alhamdullilah . Finally for a peace of mind that I do not have the virus in me. Stopped at the Pharmacy to get a few stuffs and headed home. 

 

And I thought that was the end of the episode. 

 

I got a text message from my cousin . She was forwarding  a lot of messages from many sources on this pandemic thing. So I informed her I was just back from the clinic. I was tested negative. The next question was RTK or PCR? I answered RTK. Then she messaged the rate of accuracy for both – its 60-70% for RTK and 99% for PCR. Hmm.. I went silent. 

 

Then switching to the news. It was reported that the numbers of those tested positive was on the rise , especially in my state And there was now a statement from the DG of Health about  new variant detected from India and Africa. Unlike the first variant, a person may be asymptomatic  with this new variant. No fever, no sore throat etc. This variant was discovered to have gone straight to the lungs ( from an X ray done on a patient) .and for most cases nothing much could be done. It is indeed fatal. 

 

Today, 20.5.2021 is my final of submission of my self-monitoring . Am I supposed to feel a sense of relief that it is finally over?  Or should I still remain cautious over the next few days or so?

 

Well, I am just going to go with the flow. 

 

If it’s meant to be, IT WILL BE .