Online diary of a Covid-19 survivor

CORONAVIRUS | Concerned with the plight of fellow Malaysians and other people worldwide over Covid-19, a Malaysian survivor of the pandemic initiated an online diary of his experience.

Fresh off a two-week quarantine at Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) following him testing positive for the virus, Muhammad Zulafandi Mohamad Haris started a Twitter thread on Tuesday (March 24) detailing a layperson’s musings over the chain of events.

When Malaysiakini reached out to him yesterday, the financial planner said his online musings over the events leading up to and during his quarantine at HKL seek to serve as a guide to raise awareness on the way Covid-19 spreads and how to prevent it from further infecting other people.

“Many people I know asked me whether I could share my experience (at HKL). As there are already several others following my Twitter account, I decided that would be the best way to share this.

“I never realised it would explode the way it did. The Twitter thread is meant as a guide to raising awareness on Covid-19,” said the optimistic 30-year-old who is a father with one son and his wife expecting a second child.

Based on his Twitter thread and several explanations by him to Malaysiakini, the following is a near-daily breakdown of the events leading up to his experience being warded at HKL on March 9 and discharged upon testing negative for Covid-19 on March 20. 

In his own words.

DAY 1 (March 9)

After a few days in self-quarantine at our family home at Bukit Jalil, HKL informed us that the results of testing showed I was positive with Covid-19.

Thankfully, my three-year-old son Umar Zidan, as well as my sister-in-law, tested negative for the virus.

(Up to this point, the Health Ministry had ordered the three of us to self-isolate at home following my wife being tested positive for the virus on March 5. She was earlier warded at the Covid-19 isolation ward at HKL on March 5.)

When my test result came back positive, we immediately cleaned and disinfected the house before the HKL ambulance arrived.

The whole block (neighbourhood) was admittedly excited (kecoh) when the ambulance arrived to take me to HKL.

Before entering the ambulance, I told Umar to stay with Mak Lang (sister-in-law) until my wife and I returned from HKL.

“Daddy and mummy are sick so need to go to the hospital to see the doctor,” I told Umar.

As I entered the ambulance, I admit that I cried.

On reaching HKL, I was warded at Room 13 of the hospital’s Covid-19 isolation ward, which was the same building as the royal ward.

I was glad that my wife also happened to be warded in Room 14, right next to mine.

We may not be able to see each other but we were comforted by the fact that we were still near each other and that we were both safe.

Meanwhile, I shared Room 13 with three other adult male Covid-19 positive patients, who were admitted two or three days earlier before me.

DAYS 2 to 9 (March 10 to 17)

In Room 13, the four of us roommates bonded due to our shared experience linked to the pandemic. We each kept each other’s morale and motivation up as the days ticked by to the day of our respective discharge from quarantine.

This is particularly important as there is a risk of demotivation being in isolation due to testing positive for Covid-19, even though we showed little to no symptoms.

As a result, we got to know each other more and bantered and joked to help pass the time within the four walls of the ward. This was very effective at keeping away stress helped by the generally calm atmosphere in the ward.

In terms of meals, we were served nutritious plastic-packed food and bottled water four times a day. 

We made sure to finish the meals because finished or not, the items would be disposed after use.

During the quarantine at HKL, nurses clad in personal protective equipment (PPE) would visit us three times a day to check our temperature and blood pressure, among others.

During these moments, the four of us in the ward took the opportunity to ask the nurses about what has been happening in the outside world, especially concerning the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the doctor, also clad in PPE, visited us once a day to explain to us the results of the checks done by the nurses and inform us on our general health, among others. This is important as currently there is no cure for Covid-19. Doctors and nurses can only help try to treat the related symptoms like fever, cough and breathing difficulty, to help our body’s immune system fight off the infection.

Before we could be discharged from HKL, we needed to test negative for Covid-19 twice in a row.

Some patients test negative the first time, but the second test yielded positive. Hence, we must not get stressed out while fighting off the infection.

As a curious observation, we sometimes could not distinguish between doctors, nurses and cleaners because they all wear PPE.

We need to appreciate their sacrifice. Even though the ward was air-conditioned, they would still sweat from the heat beneath the PPE suits as they would work for 12 hours a day. Once the medical practitioners take off the PPE suits, the suits would be discarded even if they only wished to go to the toilet or perform prayers.

During our stay, we were also subjected to X-ray examinations. The PPE-clad medical practitioners would come into the ward with the X-ray equipment and conduct the procedure while we laid on our beds.

Day 10 (March 18)

One of my roommates was discharged today, so we took the opportunity to take a group selfie for the memories of our time together at HKL.

I am grateful to Allah for having placed me with them during my treatment at HKL.

Upon my roommate’s discharge from Room 13, a PPE-clad cleaner entered the ward and meticulously cleaned and disinfected the bed that he used.

This is the process that the cleaners need to do whenever a person leaves the ward and another patient is set to enter.

The cleaners quickly cleaned the bed and even the curtains were replaced. They thoroughly clean. They even sanitised the bed's steel railings. 

DAY 11 (March 19)

When my second test showed I was negative for Covid-19, I was transferred to a bigger, open ward with around 30 patients for the final night of my stay at HKL.

Admittedly, I initially felt a bit uneasy being there with other patients who tested positive for the virus and prayed to be able to be discharged the next day.

However, I made an effort to push away negative thoughts. I even got to know one of the patients there and chatted with him on what led to his being warded at HKL.

DAY 12 (March 20)

Alhamdulillah (Praise to Allah), on this day I was allowed to be discharged, finally.

As I was left the open ward, I tried to motivate other patients and hope that they would beat the virus and be discharged soon.

I was finally reunited with my family including my wife, who was discharged from HKL earlier. The whole experience is something that will stay in my memory.

Remember, we patients did not ask to be infected. We regard this as a test. However, before anything happens, we should be prepare ourselves and our families.

For those still out there, please abide by the movement control order (MCO), practice social distancing and stay at home unless one has pressing things to attend to outside.

At the same time, we must keep feeling positive to maintain our inner strength and never give up. If we do not do this, we would not be able to fend off the pandemic.

For those of us who are young, it is especially important to take these steps to safeguard the elderly, who are more vulnerable to Covid-19.

I am Zulafandi Haris. I am now Covid-19 negative.

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