Christian editorial website saltandlight.sg published the personal anecdote of Case 48, a 34-year-old man with ties to Grace Assembly of God, on Tuesday (Feb. 18).

Case 48 is the first case to be linked to the Grace Assembly of God cluster in the Ministry of Health (MOH)'s press release on Feb. 12. He is one of the two confirmed cases linked to the church in the Feb.12 announcement.

Finding out that he had the virus

When he got a call from the MOH informing that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, he was "speechless". He did not expect to carry the virus, and was asymptomatic by the time he received the call from National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

According to MOH, he had reported onset of symptoms on Feb. 1, and had sought treatment at three general practitioner (GP) clinics on Feb. 2, Feb. 4, Feb. 7, Feb. 9, as well as a medical clinic for X-ray on Feb. 10 prior to the call.

He said that he took slightly under an hour to pack his things and say a hurried farewell to his wife before he was whisked away to the NCID on an ambulance. His family was quarantined.

As he left, he avoided touching his family for fear of infecting them.

He also felt guilty about the interactions he had with people in the previous weeks while he was unaware of his condition.

Asymptomatic, but isolated

Upon reaching NCID, he was warded in a fairly large isolation room with two glass doors to the room, and a food hatch in the wall for his meals to be sent through.

On his first day, he did not undergo any testing. He was also not given treatment or medication.

Still, doctors and nurses would don full protective gear before approaching him. A tracker was used to monitor his movements and healthcare workers would only communicate with him through a desk phone next to his bed.

"To say the least, I felt like a leper and a prisoner," he said, referring to his feelings of being shunned.

He also said that some public information published about him was inaccurate, and he faced backlash from the public - even from those who knew him.

Public information about him included his visit to Malaysia on Jan.26, his visits to Plaza Singapura, Star Vista and Fusionopolis.

Other public information included his work place - Grace Assembly of God (Tanglin) and Grace Assembly of God (Bukit Batok) - and where he stayed (Bukit Batok).

A trying period

To his elation, his first nasal swab test came back negative.

But that happiness was short-lived, as the subsequent test revealed that he still had the virus in his system.

"That news hit me hard. I did not understand: 'Were those my results?? Did they make a mistake?? How can that be?? Can they administer the test swab on me again??'

Physically, I felt in the pink. Doctors said I was asymptomatic. But mentally, emotionally and spiritually, it was a challenging time," he said.

Despite the bad news, a text from his wife gave him the strength to carry on.

His third test results came out ambivalent, which meant that he had to restart the whole testing process again.

Support from the community

In these uncertain times, he said that it was easy for anyone to take a harsh stance and condemn others for the adverse situation.

Instead of that, he witnessed the "tireless support" from the Christian community.

He marvelled at churches all across Singapore joining in collective prayer for those affected by the virus.

He also said that church members delivered food, groceries and care packages to those on Home Quarantine Order (HQO).

Appeal to appreciate healthcare workers

While he was warded in NCID, he said that the doctors and nurses were very empathetic to his situation. One particular case he highlighted was a nurse who, in some ways, was going through the same thing as him.

"He has a young child around the age of my son and his wife is pregnant. These healthcare workers work round the clock, their leave has been frozen and some of them are separated from their families," he said.

Victory over the virus

His next two swab tests came out negative for Covid-19.

The confirmation of his recovery became clear when his doctor walked through the doors without any protective gear to congratulate him for being free of the virus.

"I was overjoyed that I would be discharged without any quarantine. My body had fought the virus and I am a COVID-19 survivor! I got myself into a taxi and headed home to reunite with my family," he said.

Congratulations!

You can read his full story here.

H/T: SaltandLight.sg

Mothership has published his account with the site's permission and has reached out to the church for more information.

Top photo by Bret Kavanaugh from Unsplash