‘5 Answers’ is a simple, no-frills written series where we ask five people one same question and share them with you, the readers. A quick read aimed to spark conversations and share perspectives.
I asked 5 people who were diagnosed with COVID-19 and have since recovered to share about their experiences.
“I was having fever then I remembered thinking to myself wah, what if I really ‘kena’ (got) COVID? I took an ART test at home, it was negative. I was slightly relieved but still felt uneasy as I’ve also heard way too many stories of people getting false negatives from their ART tests… so I went to see a doctor. I did a PCR swab test and true enough, the results came back as positive. The feeling is like… good to know what’s wrong with me but also sucks to know it’s COVID. Despite everything, I would say I’m one of the luckier ones as I’m in my 20s, in relatively good general health and fully vaccinated so my symptoms weren’t severe. The actual recovery wasn’t tough for me, it was the staying in the room for 10 days that was unexpectedly challenging.” – Mason
“My first thought was my family, especially my parents. What if they get it too? Everyone in my house is fully vaccinated but it’s still worrying. It didn’t matter to me that I got COVID, I know it’s rampant these days. I just hated the thought of passing it to anyone else. Thankfully they all tested negative. My parents gave up their master bedroom for 10 days so that I could self isolate at home. I’m fortunate enough to be able to do work from home so it helped me to kill time and it was nice being in the comfort of my own home. I would say that the recovery was relatively easy with all the support I was receiving, the main thing I struggled the most with was fighting off the tired feeling all the time.” – Jia Wen
“When I came home from the doctor’s and was waiting for my PCR test results, I did an ART test. It was positive. I stay with my parents and two younger sisters, didn’t have my own room with a toilet so I knew I won’t be able to self isolate at home. When the order came, I headed to the hotel with my bag of stuff. It may seem like a staycation but I had to share the room with a complete stranger so yeah, the first two days were tough. There was constant coughing through the night, I could barely get any rest. It did get better though and we became friends who shared a somewhat weird affinity of being covid-roommates before anything. It’s a funny way to start a friendship but I guess apart from making a full recovery, that’s the other good thing that came out of this.” – Oli
“I kind of knew it was just a matter of time, people all around me – family, friends and colleagues, one by one were getting diagnosed with COVID. I’m fully vaccinated so I wasn’t too concerned when I heard the news. I was coughing quite a bit but it was bearable, I remember feeling so thankful that I could still taste food. I know this comment sounds so ‘first world’ but when you’re stuck in a room all day and don’t really have much to look forward to, food is one of the very few things that can bring comfort and joy when you’re isolated.” – Ms Lim
“Nobody can hide from this virus. You won’t know how you get it, it’s everywhere. So just go and get vaccinated, especially if you are old like me. I think if I didn’t get the vaccine, I ‘bye bye’ already. My son was so worried, I told him don’t worry I’m okay but he still worry. After about a week, I fully recovered. No more cough, headache or body ache. I was happy to go back to the market and cook for my family, staying home all day really don’t feel good. Time passed too slowly.” – Mdm Tan (response was entirely in Mandarin and was translated for purposes of this article)
Stay safe everybody.
