Towards the end of 2019, back when it was only called the Wuhan virus, started (as per its namesake) in Wuhan, China, I was approximately 6 months into my career as a hotelier, with high hopes to be on the journey as one of the top communication specialists in the industry.
Before the Coronavirus (renamed from Wuhan virus) hit our shores here in Malaysia, tourism did start to slow down, but at an affordable entry point and relatively good service, rooms were still selling; events, meetings and training were still being held.
The hotel I joined embarked on repositioning as a family-focused hotel instead of their previous 'business hotel of choice' status. It was an exciting journey for me to craft stories around their family-orientated products such as the themed rooms, indoor playland and meal sets.
Not to boast, but I am happy to share that during my stint there (as a newbie in the industry), I managed to partner up with theAsianParentMY (Asia's largest digital parenting community platform) to market the hotel's family-oriented business strategy. The partnership leads to the success of hosting the Mrs Malaysia World Women Empowerment event. The partnership also gave further visibility to the hotel’s themed rooms.
<Yeaps, that's Diana Danielle in the picture, incase you were wondering>
I am saddened to say that my career as a hotelier came to a halt after barely a year.
The Genesis of Quarantine
By the end of the first quarter into the year 2020, Malaysia encountered our very first lockdown. For two weeks, life came to a halt. We were on pause mode for 14 days. I was grateful for the time off. The 14 days gave me the much needed time to reset and to focus on myself.
However, 14 days turned into another 14 days. And then another. Life cannot be in suspended animation for that long. Businesses were starting to panic. Bosses still had to pay salary, and there was no revenue being generated. E-commerce and everything related to virtual, remote and contactless services started booming as whichever businesses that can go online started migrating online. Creativity overflows with businesses upping their game and revamping their product and offerings.
With compulsory quarantine in place for those returning to the country, hotels were allowed to serve as a quarantine centre. Although the margin was not great, the hotel where I worked jumped on the bandwagon. Any revenue is better than no revenue. Staffs were called back to duty to serve our country (so to speak) and generate revenue for the company.
There is no denying that it was a scary thought. To work amidst the virus. The feeling of vulnerability was so real. At full house, we had close to 400 rooms taken up. Some rooms had 2 occupants (couples). We had over 30 frontliners on duty, ranging from representatives from the Ministry of Health, National Disaster Management Agency, the Welfare Department, police, army and RELA, bringing the total to as many as 600 guests for us at the hotel to serve, at any given time.
It was tough. Each of us (no matter which department) had to wear multiple hats. In addition to my role as a Marketing and Communications Manager, I had to help with various divisions including housekeeping, and security. It was my first time being entrusted with a walkie-talkie. I loved the walkie-talkie. As silly as it might sound, being entrusted with one felt like adulting. It was a grown up job to be part of the 'network' instead of just ushering guests. We had to work over the weekends and public holidays.
I have to say: this experience had humbled me alot. I have never been very good at cleaning, dusting, making beds, etc. Cleaning a room after someone being stuck inside for 14-days really did gross me out.
Every day, there were over 400 packs of food to be packed and organised. It was not a simple task for our kitchen and F&B colleagues —freshly cooked food (hot from the stove - and its really hot!) needed to be handled with much care to ensure cleanliness and freshness. And there were special requests such as allergies and vegetarians to take note of. Food packs required to be labelled carefully to provide the number of meals and dates were correct. Ingredients needed to be purchased accordingly. Hands were short, and the task needs to be completed within a stipulated timeframe.
I remember the day when the announcement came on one of the quarantine period was cut short. We were prepared with materials to serve the guests for 14 days. Swab results were not out. It was heartbreaking. We were left with the ingredients we purchased and exposed to the virus when the guests were told to check-out.
My heart goes out to my colleagues who had to suit up in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to serve the guests – from check-ins, food delivery and everything in between. They were left exhausted from the sweat and constraints of the suit after each session. But we all understood it was necessary, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were in place to ensure everyone's safety.
We tried our best to make sure each quarantine period is as comfortable as possible. We learnt, improved and came out with new ideas how to accommodate the many requests, needs and wants. We were, after all, still a hotel, and we have to provide the best service as well as we could. Through festive seasons and birthdays, we tried to make each experience as memorable as possible to help each guest through their quarantine journey.
We were happy to receive good reviews, and we strived to improve from what we lack.
We were especially ecstatic when one of the reviews made the news: Comfortable quarantine in KL hotel | The Star
Our efforts were also featured in the local news: Furama feature in Berita RTM 25 May 2020
Not to rebuke anyone, but I hope that those who have to undergo quarantine in hotels are not too quick to judge if you encounter a mistake made by one of the staff. True, it is not easy for you to be stuck in a room for 14 (or 10) days. But it is not easy for us either. Some of my colleagues were not able to go home to their families for over a month. I am lucky to be living within the vicinity of my family. And those of us who get to go home worried every day about bringing the virus back to our family. All of us are extra vigilant to ensure each other's safety and well-being.
I am not making excuses, but all of us are only human. Hotel staffs are humans too. If there is a mistake, do highlight it and allow them the opportunity to rectify it.
I am grateful to learn the proper methods to make beds and to operate a barista's coffee machine. I cannot say I am an expert, but I can safely say that I have hands-on experience with the methods. Manual labour is not easy, and it is certainly not for me.
On top of all this, I had to take on doing my artworks, photography, and videos independently (my graphic designer had resigned by then). Back office hallways were used to transport quarantine guests. I was working from my little corner in the all-day dining, which doubled as a storage and prep area. I learnt that Snapchat is a valuable tool to beautify all the photos and videos I needed to take (experimented with myself to test it out).
Albeit the COVID-19 virus, I still have my career to think about. I do not want my career to be on pause because of the pandemic. I want to be a communications practitioner. I want to grow in the field of Public Relations (PR). I refuse to let this virus set me back. I knew it will not be easy as employment opportunities are limited as many companies are looking at budget cuts to weather the uncertainties ahead.
But there were success stories that arise from the COVID-19 pandemic, I want to be part of it.
When it strikes
I was offered a position as a PR Manager at tertiary education institution, and I took it. I was grateful as it meant that slowly but surely, my career is back on track.
However, during this time, the number of infected were on the rise.
Less than 2 months into the job, the government announced a Movement Control Order (MCO) again. Some of us get to work from home – WFH - (I live over 30km away from the office, in another state and district all together).
When MCO turned into Control MCO, we returned full force to the office. We moved on with life while adapting to the new normal that the pandemic has brought about.
When my colleague from the same department was tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, it was the first time the virus came so close to me physically. Up until now, I had always been a Category C. With this, myself and the rest of the department was immediately elevated to Category B (or 2), and we organised a swab test immediately.
The irony was – I spend close to a year working in a quarantine centre and was never a Category B.
We all breathed a sigh of relief when all our results came back negative. We still needed to be quarantined, but our hearts were lighter. Although still in quarantine, I had tasks I needed to work on - press conferences to manage (albeit remotely), article deadlines to meet and many other documents to churn.
But, it was too soon for relief as we were not out of the water yet. Apparently, we took the test too soon, and symptoms only started a couple of days after.
I have always had allergies, sensitive throat and irritant cough occasionally. When I was experiencing these, I brushed it off as 'normal' for me, primarily due to the erratic weather. When I suddenly found I couldn't smell and taste, I was hit with the realisation that I might have been infected.
It was a surreal experience. I sniffed everything, from garlic, chilli, essential oils and even eucalyptus oil. I could not smell a single thing. It was like being in a Charlie Chaplin movie; instead of no sound, there is no smell. I have never appreciated my gastronomic sense so much up until this moment. My appetite depleted, and I had high hopes to lose weight.
True enough, my second swab came back positive.
Although it was nerve wreaking, it was sort of expected – especially when I lost my sense of smell and taste.
This was then followed by fever, sore throat, cough and flu.
The other really real symptoms were fatigue and shortness of breath.
The fatigue is very real. Even now, upon recovery, the fatigue is still real. So, I have to plan my day and activities carefully to ensure that I have enough energy to complete the tasks I needed to complete each day. I have to plan my rest. I have to plan what I need to help me recuperate my energy.
The shortness of breath is also very real. I have been a pretty active member at Flyproject for many years, participating in their rhythmic spin class with hopes to stay fit, build stamina, and, most importantly, lose weight. I am not extremely fit, but neither am I unfit. But upon contracting the virus, I feel like I ran a marathon every time I move. I now have a first-hand understanding of why the COVID-19 virus is dangerous for those with existing respiratory problems and the elderly.
Counting my blessings
I am truly blessed to be able to quarantine in the comfort of my own home. I had friends who were sent to quarantine centres. There were endless news reports of people being hospitalised as well.
I had the support of my family and close friends. All who video called me endlessly to make sure I was doing ok.
In comparison to many, I ascertained that my symptoms were mild. Other than plenty of rest and managing the symptoms, there isn't much that can be done. I had access to plenty of supplements and nutritious food to help me recuperate. When I could sleep no more, I had work to keep me occupied (trust me, it was rather a lot).
My symptoms started improving, and I regained my sense of smell and taste towards the end of my quarantine. I was happy to be ‘discharged’ - so to speak – on Labour’s Day 2021.
On the journey to full recovery
Everyone's journey to full recovery is different. But the important thing is that we ARE a COVID-19 SURVIVOR (not a COVID-10 casualty) , and we ARE on the journey to recovery.
The lingering effects of fatigue and shortness of breath are true. Learning how to manage it is crucial.
Learn to plan ahead to make sure you have enough time and energy for each task.
Research what works best for your body to help you stay alert and boost your energy.
My daily formula is this:
1. Coffee
2. Essence of chicken
3. Vitamin C 1000mg + zinc
4. Upping my protein consumption with eggs and meat
5. Reducing oily food and carbohydrates
6. Lots of fruits and vegetables
For shortness of breath, I learnt how to deep breathe properly.
Whenever I feel out of breath or just for practice, I will do this.
The next step would be to incorporate exercise and get back on track with my rhythmic cycling once the gym is open. Stamina needs to be built, albeit slowly.
Meditating also helps.
I am lucky to regain my sense of smell and taste pretty fast. I have heard of people who did not recover it until a month later.
I suspect it is because I consume a lot of garlic and ginger in my daily diet.
I also take turmeric daily in the form of gummies which is said to help with inflammation, and it did wonders for my sore throat.
Here's the link to iHerb > https://www.iherb.com/?rcode=CDJ7346
I am also consciously ensuring that I drink plenty of water (at least 2.5 litres a day).
As a Chinese, I believe in the power of soup. And I am soup-ing up with various type of soup from Lung Nourishing to Mind Calming from Signature Market . I like buying from Signature Market because the explanations are in English (I do not read Chinese), it's easy to understand what each item is for, plus, the price is reasonable > https://www.signaturemarket.co/my/marketplace/index.php?promo=twenty&affiliateid=259015
The Stigma surrounding those infected
There is no doubt that there is a stigma regarding those who have contracted the COVID-19 virus.
Although no longer contagious, many are still hesitant to be near COVID-19 survivors.
I do not blame them. Everyone is only looking to protect themselves.
It took me some time to decide to share that I am a COVID-19 survivor.
I did not want to deal with the stigma.
I did not want their look of pity.
I was afraid of being rejected from the places I want to go and the work I want to do.
I feared being labelled as 'disabled' because I am still managing some lingering side effects.
But, to be honest, the fatigue and shortness of breath that I am experiencing are really no different from a person who is obese or a chronic smoker. In fact, I think I am handling it pretty well. I have even started taking steps towards ensuring a full recovery.
So now, I have decided to tell my story, my personal encounter with this merciless virus, so that others can learn from it.
Prevention
Prevention is always better than cure.
No matter how silly or trivial those little steps are – it matters to stick it.
Instead of looking outwards and pointing fingers at who should do what and who would be penalised for violating SOPs, it is more important to make sure that we practice those little steps.
Here are some reminders:
This is a video that was circulating back in January 2021 which I found to be very informative. Remedies are NOT cure, neither are they vaccines. But, it is always better to be safe than sorry.
We have been living with the COVID-19 virus for over a year. Business and companies should already have guidelines and implemented safeguard measures to protect employees. WFH is not a method to earn a 'free salary'. It does not mean those WFH are slacking.
True, there is some task which needs to be accomplished via face-to-face meetings. But it does not mean that work is not being done when someone is not physically present at the office.
Focusing on what matters
We often hear from numerous motivational speakers and survivors of horrific situations that encountered like these are life-changing. YES, I am a COVID-19 survivor.
I would not say that because of my encounter with the virus, I am overhauling my life.
But, the pandemic HAS shifted my focus.
Life is fragile, and time is precious.
I am consciously focusing on what makes me a better person. And to be prepared for the uncertainties that the future will bring.
I hope my sharing has shed some light on those who are going through similar experiences.
Note:
Source of infographics: Infografik | COVID-19 MALAYSIA (moh.gov.my)
To-date: annoyingly, my weight lost is not significant enough to note - although I HAD shed a couple of grams (according to my dad)
As of mid-May 2021, I have left my position with the tertiary education institution and embarking on a new journey.
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