The New Year celebrations were barely over when a mysterious coronavirus outbreak in China was reported. Alarm was raised when the first case of the virus outside China was confirmed in Thailand. Now named COVID-19, the virus rapidly made its way around the world, disrupting the global economy and causing thousands of deaths.
Singapore’s first COVID-19 case was confirmed in late January. With more cases diagnosed, the DORSCON level was raised from Yellow to Orange on 7 February, and a slew of measures was introduced to contain the transmission locally.
The way we work has since changed drastically. We have had to reschedule patients who do not require urgent treatment, and take enhanced precautions when seeing patients. We have also adopted safe distancing measures such as reducing face-to-face meetings, staggered lunch breaks, and split teams, to ensure that we can continue to deliver care. From 12 April, NDCS staff have also answered the call to volunteer at migrant worker dorms, running mobile medical clinics and conducting nasopharyngeal swabs.
This special edition of Word of Mouth showcases the fighting spirit of NDCS staff who are gamely meeting the challenges posed by COVID-19, both at the Centre and out in the field. Wherever you are continuing to deliver care, we celebrate you and thank you for your service to the nation.
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