Dr Raymond Ang Ee Peng

I think basically as everybody has highlighted, is the fact that we are doing it as a team, as a group, you know what I mean? Not just as single individuals. Personally, most memorable for me would be the heat. Damn bloody hot. Once you wear your full PPE, the white stuff, the yellow stuff, the goggles, the face shields, everything, it’s like a sauna. So the first time when we were given an area where we can take off our PPE after we finished swabbing, it’s like wow. Sweat was just dripping all over, so that was memorable. There was this nice puddle underneath me after that.

Basically, we feel that it is necessary. And I think the fact that we are volunteering as a company, as a group, makes a difference as (compared to) if we volunteer as individuals, it can be a little bit intimidating. But because we are all doing it, like 70 plus of us together as a group. So we’re going into the dormitories and going into the various areas together with your friends, you know what I mean? It does make a big difference, and everybody helps each other, everybody supports each other. I think that’s one of the things that make a difference for us.

I think the most important lesson that we can pick up from here is that the disease is really contagious. It’s no joke. Our government is scared, I mean many governments are scared, and there is a reason for them to be scared. I think the contagiousness of the disease is something that is more apparent when you are actually there, when you are seeing sick patients. I think that is something that has brought it home.

My initial thoughts were actually the last words from my wife before I went off. “Don’t you dare bring anything back. ” That was like -- it stayed on my mind when we started gowning up and everything.

I think one of the sites that were quite challenging was one of the hotel sites because the people there were actually on quarantine and we had to go room to room rather than gathering them at the open area. So when you actually go in, room to room, it’s a little bit more challenging. And quite a few of them are obviously sick, you know what I mean? So you have to be even more careful. I mean we are already very careful, but I mean it’s just a little more fearful especially when you go room to room, step into their room itself rather than at the open area outside.