WFH, not WTH

Earlier this week, things were improving with fewer cases reported and I was expecting that the end of the whole current Wuhan virus saga may come soon. However things overturned quickly and suddenly that things are looking worse now. In the era of insane connectivity with social media and fake new etc, it is difficult to decipher what is truth and what is lie. I chuckle when I read commentaries from smart alecs who may not even be medically trained and compare this Wuhan virus with H1N1 for example. Hello... H1N1 had a cure back then as compared to no cure now.

Nevertheless, it does not matter whether we are trained medically, epidemiologically, and whatever, we just see the responses to assess. After all, actions speak louder than words. Chinese new year and money are very important so the fact that the holiday was extended and lockdown was initiated during CNY period really meant something. Not to mention at that time, the number of cases was still low.

As of yesterday in Singapore, the Catholic Church has suspended all Masses and activities from 12pm today indefinitely. With Mass suspended, there is no reason for me to go out on weekends anymore. Initially I was still considering to attend Novena this morning but I chickened out when thinking everyone would be chionging as only morning sessions would be available. One case also attended Church of Christ the King last weekend. Yeah I am a coward. In addition, doctors are instructed to give 5 days MC for URTI cases regardless of whether the person is suspected of Wuhan or not. I better not have any URTI as 5 days MC will quickly deplete my sick leave allowance and this is only February.

There were anecdotes of nurses in uniform getting ostracised or even abused by the public. It takes two hands to clap and in this case, I think both sides share the guilt. Yes there are members of public who overreact but at the same time, I think the nurses should also just bring change of clothes to avoid any potential altercation. We cannot control how others behave but we can only control ours. So instead of hoping people will understand etc, they should do what is within their control. It is like those people who sneeze and cough in public transport. They may not carry the virus but if they choose to sneeze and cough in public, they should not be upset if others around them feel wary.

Of course it is good to see that majority is not behaving like this and shows their support for the nurses and healthcare workers. Praise from others is one thing but self-praise is no praise. I am sorry but I feel quite disgusted seeing my friends in healthcare who are posting that they are heroes and all that. Come on! All of you are just doing your daily work. It is not as if you are taking care of the patients with the Wuhan virus. Haha perhaps this is why I left because I simply do not fit into such culture.

From next week my company has finally decided to activate the split team arrangement. At any one day, half of the team will be working from the office and the other half from home. Ideally I hope that the switch will happen every 2-3 days or every week. Now that it is changing on an alternate day basis, that means I have to commute daily with laptop. Oh well I should not be complaining, that is just a small inconvenience. After all it is better to be WFH (work from home) than to be WTH in my old job.