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Instagram account cryingin7eleven is resonating with many for their comic strip on the struggles medical staff, posted on Feb. 18.
The page allows healthcare workers, or loved ones of healthcare workers, to submit their experiences battling Covid-19 to be turned into a comic strip.
It is run by a junior doctor, also shares her own mental health journey.
The latest post is a first-person perspective of the current hospital situation in Singapore, hoping that people will not forget medical staff as the nation moves towards "plans to loosen existing Covid-19 measures".
The post has gone viral with over 11,000 likes so far.
Instagram post
In a 10-image carousel post, the artist wrote:
"Amidst all the plans to loosen Covid-19 measures, and reassurances that the healthcare system is "coping well".
"I can't help but wonder if I'm living in some sort of alternative reality."
The doctor revealed that medical staff are also catching the virus while the number of Covid-19 cases in the community is growing, meaning that there is a smaller group of staff coping with the increasing number of patients at the hospital.
Image via cryingin7eleven/IG.
The weekly infection growth rate of Covid-19 cases was 1.54 yesterday (Feb. 19), higher than the day before at 1.46.
A figure above 1 indicates that the number of new weekly Covid-19 cases is rising.
The artist encouraged the public to empathise with medical staff during this time.
In the post, the artist pointed out that while others head for Friday night drinks or travel overseas, she hasn't had a day off in three weeks.
Image via cryingin7eleven/IG.
Image via cryingin7eleven/IG.
The comic also reminded others to be considerate to medical staff, as they might have been working non-stop for hours, without being able to take a break.
Image via cryingin7eleven/IG.
Image via cryingin7eleven/IG.
"Just because you don't witness our struggles, doesn't mean we aren't struggling."
Image via cryingin7eleven/IG.
Image via cryingin7eleven/IG.
Many commenters thanked the artist for painting the situation on the ground.
One wrote:
"We are all so very tired. As nurses, we see what the public don’t see, the people who understand our struggles are the staff on the ground. That’s a fact. We can’t cope, yet the media kept portraying as if we can."
Current hospital situation
The Ministry of Health (MOH) called those low-risk Covid-19 cases with mild symptoms to recover at home in a Facebook post on Feb. 6.
This is to preserve hospital capacity for those at higher risk of severe infection.
MOH also observed long queues and waiting times at hospital Emergency Departments (EDs), with the majority of these patients not requiring emergency care.
The ministry advised members of the public to go to the hospital's ED only for serious or life-threatening emergencies, such as chest pain, breathlessness and uncontrollable bleeding.
For non-emergency situations, the public should visit General Practitioners (GPs) or 24-hour clinics instead.
List of clinics and their operating hours:
- The MOH's healthcare institutions (HCIs) directory website
- The HealthHub website or their mobile application, which is available on both the App Store and the Google Play Store
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Top images via cryingin7eleven/IG.