Thinking Aloud
My experience with Omicron: Lessons on how to live with it
When uncertainty is removed, you are more likely to follow the rules to keep everyone safe
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I was infected with the Covid-19 virus earlier this month.
When you finally succumb to the dreaded enemy after more than two years of keeping it at bay, it makes you more alive to what it means to be living with it.
Before, it was something out there which affected other people.
When you have the virus and it becomes a living part of you, it changes how you think about the disease.
My wife and I discovered we were infected quite by chance.
She had a slight cough but was feeling well otherwise.
On a whim, and not really thinking that she might have the virus, she decided to take an antigen rapid test (ART) at home.
A very faint line appeared at the T marker, a positive virus indication. But it wasn't clear and because we were not sure, (why such an unclear line, could it be a faulty test kit or a false positive?) she took another test from a different kit.
It was negative.
We were now even more uncertain.
I decided to do one myself. It was negative.
How to interpret these conflicting results?
We decided to do the more accurate and sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test at a nearby clinic.
The result: She tested positive while I remained negative.
Because the test was done at a clinic, she was now a registered positive case, and the Ministry of Health's (MOH) protocol kicked in immediately, delivered through an SMS text message.
It informed my wife that she was to self-isolate at home for three days, after which she had to perform a self-administered ART. If still positive, remain in isolation, but if negative, she would be free to go out.
As a close contact, I was issued a health risk warning (HRW) which meant that I had to do a daily ART before I left home.
This is where things got interesting and slightly complicated.
By then, I too was beginning to feel a little scratchy in the throat and was half expecting to test positive any time.
But my self-administered test continued to be negative for two more days.
On day three of my HRW, I tested positive.
Now that we were both infected, it got a little easier at home as our entire house was now a self-isolation place and there was no need for my wife and I to be staying in separate rooms.
You could say we were now a 100 per cent natural immunity population of two and could roam freely in our own house.
I did not realise what a difference this made compared with being confined in a room.
When your liberty is taken away, you are grateful for little mercies.
I suppose this is what makes the idea of having the entire country naturally immunised (or fully vaccinated) so attractive and liberating.
There was one difference though between the two of us: Unlike her, my infection was not registered as I had tested myself without going to a clinic, and, under the protocol, I did not need to report it.
The self-isolation rules though are exactly the same: Three days, after which you perform the ART to determine if you could exit quarantine.
We duly followed the rules and my wife exited on day five and I on day seven.
What lessons did I draw from the experience?
First, the importance of testing.
If we had not done the initial tests, we would not have known, and would almost certainly have passed it to family members whom we see frequently, and to friends.
It is anyone's guess then how many other people they might spread it to, and whether some of these cases could have become serious.
We are fortunate that in Singapore, test kits are readily available and their prices have fallen in recent weeks.
There are also many test centres and clinics that you can go to, some without having to make an appointment.
This is as it should be and the authorities should make sure Singapore is never short of test kits and keep a lid on prices.
Testing should be second nature in an ongoing pandemic, like taking your temperature when you feel feverish.
But prices have to be brought down or it will not be readily adopted as the norm.
As for the disease itself, both my wife and I had mild symptoms - a scratchy throat, some coughing and tiredness - which lasted for only two to three days.
I've felt much sicker in the past with the common flu, when on some days you don't feel like getting out of bed.
This was nothing in comparison.
Clearly, the vaccines and boosters helped reduce the severity of the illness.
Still, when you know the virus is in you, there is anxiety over how it might take an unexpected turn.
Will you be one of the rare cases, fully vaccinated but still vulnerable because of some underlying condition?
It was still possible, especially when both of us are over 65.
I found that what helped ease the worry and put it in perspective was the knowledge we had acquired about Covid-19 during the two years of the pandemic.
So much has been written and made available by the media, the Government, and various experts, that it is probably the most well-reported and documented of all diseases: the way it spreads, what the symptoms are, how the disease progresses in an infected person, how likely or not to require hospitalisation, the chances of recovery by age groups, and so on.
This knowledge is extremely useful when you are infected as it helps to assuage the fear of the unknown that accompanies all serious illnesses.
We felt reassured that what we were undergoing was the typical experience of vaccinated persons infected with the Omicron variant - mild symptoms which resolve themselves in a few days.
At no time did I feel the need to see a doctor.
My Covid-19 experience is pertinent now that Singapore's infection numbers are surging to record levels and there is a danger the healthcare system will be overwhelmed if too many people head for the nearest clinic even if they have mild symptoms.
To prevent this from happening, make test kits readily available and cheap, keep protocols clear and simple, and provide as much information as possible about the disease.
When uncertainty is removed, you are more likely to follow the rules to keep yourself and everyone else safe.
It is when you face an unknown danger or are kept in the dark that you tend to break the rules or behave recklessly.
The Government, and especially MOH, has done a reasonable job keeping Singaporeans informed and the protocols are now clearer and easier to follow, after improvements were made to earlier rules which were over-complicated.
More can be done to simplify procedures in various other settings, for example, in childcare centres now facing a wave of cases.
Living with Covid-19 requires individuals to exercise personal responsibility as restrictions are removed and life goes back to as near normal as possible but with the threat of another wave of infections ever present.
It means knowing what to do in many different situations: When you are not infected (wear mask and practise personal hygiene), when you want to find out if you are infected (perform ART), and when you are infected (self-isolate and test).
Countries that are open with information and keep their people informed about the disease will do better in this new normal.
After surviving the virus, I have never felt more confident it can be beaten.
Barring a killer variant, touch wood.
• Han Fook Kwang is also senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.
When you know the virus is in you, there is anxiety over how it might take an unexpected turn.
Will you be one of the rare cases, fully vaccinated but still vulnerable because of some underlying condition?... I found that what helped ease the worry and put it in perspective was the knowledge we had acquired about Covid-19 during the two years of the pandemic.
Will you be one of the rare cases, fully vaccinated but still vulnerable because of some underlying condition?... I found that what helped ease the worry and put it in perspective was the knowledge we had acquired about Covid-19 during the two years of the pandemic.
Living with Covid-19 requires individuals to exercise personal responsibility as restrictions are removed and life goes back to as near normal as possible but with the threat of another wave of infections ever present.
It means knowing what to do in many different situations... Countries that are open with information and keep their people informed about the disease will do better in this new normal.
It means knowing what to do in many different situations... Countries that are open with information and keep their people informed about the disease will do better in this new normal.
