Living Along with Eight COVID Positive

May 20,2020 –  (Day 1) one of our flat mates received a devastating message from DHA that shocked everyone of us. His covid19 test result is positive. Now, everyone heads up turning back the clock to double check the whereabouts  and those possibilities of being exposed from him.

Faces started to pale knowing that the person is casually roaming around, talking each other, using toilet, kitchen, utensils etc. Instead of compassion, we are all pointing fingers on him to the point that we want him to go out already so we can arrange for disinfection. None of us here expected this to happen, most of us here are doing extra, no super extra careful every time we go out and clean up ourselves before going to the room.

Now we are in big trouble because of a single rotten apple and it's going to destroy all in a crate. Before the incident happened, he already having a signs of a viral infections he still not covering his mouth when coughing, sneezing, the action he did to us it's like he doesn’t care thinking that he is good and well. I could not help perhaps blaming him for being insensitive. The fact that he received the message and already know everything at 2:00 pm that day and not telling everyone not even isolating himself to avoid any farther damage. A guy from his room asked him about his swab test and he then started to spit out at around 7:00 in the evening. See? His selfishness completely changed our emotions. May 21, 2020 at around 1:00 pm he was picked up by ambulance arranged by DHA. An hour later a disinfection team came whose arranged by our roommate that working in a cleaning company.

May 22, 2020- We are all now living in a fifty-fifty. Life goes on even if we are not allowed to go out since we are under in a 14-day quarantine. We are wearing mask all the time, inside and outside the room. We are ordering foods in set often for a one-time delivery. By whatapp we did an adjustments sort of brainstorming and agrees to make a schedule, timings in using kitchen and the doors and lights normally open to avoid switching on and off. In my case I found an ingenious way to open the doors, faucet, lights etc. using a dress hanger and if it’s impossible to do so I used tissue or gloves to protect my hands from direct contact. The hand washing, application of alcohol became a habit the only thing inside in our mind now is survival. The routine continues until the other guy (Lito)told us that he was also a positive with Covid19. Prior from the first result, he was required to undergo a swab test  before commencing to work . Look, he received an offer from DHA and the salary is almost four times from what he received before, and now its gone. Now we have two positive in single flat. To those OFW here in Dubai knows the set-up so need to explain but to those who don’t know anything basically, it is a studio type or an apartment that are divided by false wall commonly called “partition” and bed spaces. In other words, these are all sharing in one kitchen, toilets per room and sometime a single toilet attached with bathroom covered all. Two of our roommate’s got lucky to have a very good employer and sent them to a nice hotel for quarantine. Although there was no assurance that they moved away from the virus or rather they escaped with the virus but still they went out for quarantine. For us who was left behind really felt the disaster, couple of days passed by and we are still stuck up with the patient waiting for DHA to picked him up. We are living with unwell and prone to contamination without proper gear, etc. Prayers and self-awareness are the keys to overcome these drawbacks.

 

May 25, 2020- At exactly 4:35 pm another bad news, there was another positive covid19 result in the same room mentioned above. The tally continues to rise up since the tests result keep rolling. These two guys infected lately are not showing all the symptoms. Their complains are just body pains and a mild sore throat which means they are asymptomatic. Man, our world here is now getting smaller and smaller. The more we know the less space we have. I am thankful that up to now I am still fine, the reason I think due to the vitamins I take every night for almost on month now and of course prayer.

 

May 26, 2020, We are expecting worst case scenario, two guys waiting for the result. His name is Allan (mid 40’s) received a call from the private hospital who performed the test and told him that he was not infected with the virus. He is the only person tested negative in their room. What a relief for at least there is a sign of hope. He then informed his manager and he was given a room at their job site to continue the quarantine. And after that he fixed all his belongings and rushed to their camp that was faraway from our accommodation, more or less one-hour trip. When he arrived a few minutes later he relieved a call stating that he is indeed positive with covid and by mistake he was misinformed. Would you believe that? Imagine if you are in his shoes? He went back home in denial to every single detail that completely changed his perspective. Later in the afternoon we found out also Brian also tested positive. He is working as a nurse, but before the result came out, he was already taken by his employer to a hotel for quarantine. The total infected cases in our flat are now seven. Three of us remain untested and still hoping and praying that no symptoms will appear and after 14 days of quarantine we will go to the nearest testing center. Actually, only two of us with no symptoms up to now by god’s grace and protection. The other guy Jason still in denial even he has a sign of symptoms but later he accepted that he is positive also even without a test conducted.

 

 

May 30, 2020- As the struggles continued, Jason decided and went Al Badaa Hospital for a swab test. At last he made a moved after how many weeks he managed to fool himself not accepting the reality that he himself knew the answer already. I guess he made that action after a lady in our flat took a test also as a requirement for her company the day before this happened.

To make sure that everything if fine I decide also to follow what they did. The following day I called up DHA and I told them about the exposure I have but still they are not convinced. Early in morning in the said date I went to a public hospital since the testing here is so expensive and will not covered by insurance. Right there I saw Indian nurses checking those in the queue where I belong and I’m surprise they took temperature and oxygen levels without changing their gloves knowing that those guys are highly suspected with covid. And then my turn,she took me the same test and later she said I have no sign of covid symptoms and go back home and quarantine yourself and we cannot proceed a swab test with you otherwise ask approval from DHA she added. For me it’s a waste of money going here and there but to think that it is not safe to go along with them and I’d rather go to the private hospital. So, I went to Al Gargash Hospital in Jumeirah and there I was interviewed and paid 400 AED for a swab test.

 

June 1,2020 -At exactly 9:00 am I received a call from the hospital informing my result and he told that my covid test is negative. That was a relief but still I am not safe since I am still living in the same flat with one positive and still Jason is waiting for his result. The same precaution and protocols we followed every day, we are maintaining the distancing and wearing mask every time. After three days we found out that indeed our suspicions are correct and it was validated, Jason was positive and now there are two them in the flat. Allan still with us since DHA is ignoring his calls and he was never picked up. He called up many times but he was just keep waiting and waiting. They are just asking them every time about there vital status and if there was no sense of urgency they will just stay home and self-medicate. We have agreed that we need no slow down the air condition and sometimes we turned it off if we are going to exercise and that called “ Su-ob” or “Tu-ob”.We are doing that for a week already, I am not sure if all of us doing that but at least I knew five of us are doing it. After a week we heard a good news, Lito was the second person infected by covid but he was the first guy declared negative.DHA took him at the hotel and he just stayed there for one week. I think that his immune system is strong and the good treatment help him a lot.

 

June 6,2020 – Everything is running smoothly, those who are infected are now coming back one by one after declared negative in the second test. Our flat has been dis infected in the second time around, the practice that we had are still there. Some of them are returning to work, others unfortunately lose their job due to pandemic. In my case, I resigned to my work after they declare the “no work no pay” policy.

 

The reason why I simply put this down into my notes is because I wanted to educate people. I know it’s hard to accept in the first place, every one of us here suffered for distress and the only thing we aim is to survive. We are really not in good terms with the guy who is not responsible and it caused us everything including our lives. Time goes by we accept his apology but we are hoping he will never do the same again. But what we learned from this instance is too much. We able to communicate and share our ideas if not for food since we are not allowed to share cooked food utensils or anything that can be used as a vehicle for the virus. We chat each other exchanged jokes often, literally there is a positivity even they are covid positive. Stop the victim shaming, the discrimination to those who suffered the virus specially to our front liners that are infected. Awareness and self-discipline are very important but of course the highlight here is” be responsible.”