What do you do when you find out your trainee has H1N1? News is sketchy and all you know is that the trainee you have been spending the entire week with was infectious, and is now quarantined in CDC! Your boss orders the entire department to stay home; to stay a mile away…ok make it 100 miles away. What do you do amidst all that panic??? You log on to msn…

 

The protaganists:

 

THE WANDERING MISTREL: has been coughing and sniffling for the past 2 days but no fever. spent the entire week around infected colleague.

THE MASKED SUPERHERO: Ran a fever over the weekend but has since recovered. Did not have contact with infected colleague.

The plot:

 

the wandering mistrel says…:
hey are u in the office? did u hear the news?

Masked like a superhero says:
of course lah! you should see all the raised eyebrows here! we are now all masked superheros!

the wandering mistrel says…:
haha so whats the plan for u guys? i’ve been ordered to stay home! i’ve been in contact with audrey all week leh! yikes. and im sick too…. >.<

Masked like a superhero says:
we are going for a test later. heard its very easy…just a mouth swab and temperature check. max 1.5 hrs. had fever over the weekend so better be kiasi a bit lah..

the wandering mistrel says…:
where u all going for the test? i should go too…been coughing and sniffling the past 2 days..

Masked like a superhero says:
down the hill lor…mt alvernia. yah u better go. oh wear mask hor….zee got scolded for appearing at the clinic without a mask

the wandering mistrel says…:
haha ok ill go later. but huh? get mask from where?
ok maybe i still have one frm sars…but i bet its mouldy la!

Masked like a superhero says:
erm wear a stocking over ur head like a bank robber? haha

the wandering mistrel says…:
erm the germs can go through that? -.-

Masked like a superhero says:
i am not a germ, i dont know. but people will DEF stay even further away from you. haha. people area already staying away from us. the crisis mgmt team came earlier. and they fogged the whole office and us. i feel like a mosquito … -.-”

the wandering mistrel says…:
haha thats quite funny actually. so aud is really a cfmed case? where did she get H1N1 from? so are they closing the office?

Masked like a superhero says:
haha obv not lah. otherwise how? the whole of spore watch the round thing with colour bars for 24/7?  we need to make tv for the quarantined people!

the wandering mistrel says…:
lol hmmm.
how about a black screen saying CNA is down with swine flu, pls come back in 7 days? haha. k anyway i better go check to be safe. u sure only 1.5 hrs ah? cannot afford to be sitting there waiting for 5 hrs

Masked like a superhero says:
yah lah its just a simple test, otherwise where got time to go? i have to make tv for the stuck-at-home people!

the wandering mistrel says…
as though i dont have to like that. am supposed to be editing a show tdy lah. now dunno how man! k will go check up later then see how.

Masked like a superhero says:
yah u should. i thk u might have it. uve been coughing and sneezing like no tmr!

the wandering mistrel says…:
yes mum. ok ttyl. let me settle editing problem first.

Masked like a superhero says:
ta

 

So like all good moral (okay maybe kiasu) Singaporeans, “The Wandering Mistrel” and “Masked like a Superhero” went to the nearest clinic to get themselves tested for H1N1. They are in for a rude shock….

12 HOURS LATER at 3AM…

 

Masked like a superhero says:
GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ARGGGHHHHHH! haha OMG did u just come home too?

the wandering mistrel says…:
yes! 15 mins ago wah lao. u too?

Masked like a superhero says:
yah man. first thing i did was toe SHOWER! wash off the bad luck!! did u get shipped off to CDC too? they suspected me having H1N1!!!!!

the wandering mistrel says…:
YAH same man. showered to wash off all the SWINE germs that might have stuck! u mean u were there too?! GOSH! mt alvernia shipped me off in an ambulance after i told them my colleague had H1N1

Masked like a superhero says:
YESSSS!!! where were you? how come i never see you? goodness Ro was there too! we can have dept gathering at CDC!!!

the wandering mistrel says…:
no kidding!!! i was under this big tent like thing in an armchair!

Masked like a superhero says:
ohhh i was in some indoor section!! they plonked me in a plastic chair there.
i had to wait 2 hrs for the ambulance to send me down!!!! choi choi choi! they didnt let me take public tpt!

the wandering mistrel says…:
me too man! first time taking ambulance. haha. i just waited 30 mins though. they like me beter i think

Masked like a superhero says:
damn it! i think you stole my abulance!!!!

the wandering mistrel says…:
haha i told you, they like me better
eh you’re negative right? the TEST SUCKS btw! i hate the thing they poked up my nose

Masked like a superhero says:
yah!! after all that trouble, i ALMOST wish i was POSTIVE! to make the 12 hr wait worthwhile, as with the needle poking abuse!

the wandering mistrel says…:
erm no thanks la, im glad to be home. rather than be ostracized in a solo CDC ward. GOSH i cant believe u were there! u should have said so! then can chit chat pass the time at least!!

Masked like a superhero says:
haha i saw RO!!! i chatted with her and then got SCOLDED! coz we are theoretically sharing our germs.
so we are not supposed to talk to each other…coz germs can communicate with each other…hence we were in the COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CENTRE

the wandering mistrel says…:
WHAT?! u had a friend?!! no fair. i had nothing! shd have brought a book man. was watching my fingernails grow.
eh but did u hear the latest news? turns out aud is actually NEGATIVE! so really, all that ado for NOTHING!

Masked like a superhero says:
NOOOO!!! SHE’S POSITIVE LAH! she went for the test and it was confirmed that she had H1N1.

the wandering mistrel says…:
HUH? but lydia just messaged me saying false alarm she was negative! so she’s getting discharged

Masked like a superhero says:
how can she both be positive and negative u tell me?
first the doctors say only CDC has the proper test kit for h1n1 thats why they hauled us there!

the wandering mistrel says…:
but the rest went to normal clinics to get tested you know?

Masked like a superhero says:
no leh, the normal clinics can test for INFLUENZA A, not H1N1!
even if u test -ve for infleunza A, u still can be suffering from H1N1!!!!
oh boy i can hear all my friends laughing at me already….

the wandering mistrel says…:
U mean there’s a difference? huh so the rest might have it actually?!!!

Masked like a superhero says:
i kept pestering the doc, and thats what he explained. he said inflenza A can display what they call “false positives and false negatives” for h1n1

the wandering mistrel says…:
wah cheem. am confused.
well at least i know i’m cleared….
although being at CDC we could have picked it up from an infected person there for all we know la!

Masked like a superhero says:
EXACTLY!!! We are the only 2 big losers, plus ro, who did the proper test!
13hrs of waiting! all for nothing!

the wandering mistrel says…:
sigh…. i shall drown my sorrows with a whiskey and head to bed. its almost 4am already!!!!

Masked like a superhero says:
try vodka…i think vodka kills more germs…though it kills your liver too.
me…i feel like calling the whole world up to bitch. -.-

the wandering mistrel says…:
GAH!!! ME TOO! dammit dammit dammit. tmr better go buy 4D

Masked like a superhero says:
i cant even go back to work coz of the 7 day home quarantine! omg i’m thinking of the backlog and shivering in my pants.

the wandering mistrel says…:
yah me too. but im fine though! so i think will prob go back to work – got programme out on monday, no choice lah!
ok i’m really falling asleep at the computer…talk to you tmr!
nights fellow loser!

Masked like a superhero says:
ok go go…*sweet dreams*

the wandering mistrel says…:
ha! prob will have nightmares of CDC
K BYE

2 months ago, the bunch of us producers from the English Current Affairs department, yes, the same ones who make BlogTV happen; were sitting around a table, discussing the new features of this season’s BlogTV.

We couldn’t wait to record the first episode, which is to be telecast‘LIVE’. Our new trainee was especially excited as it is also to be her first time working on a Live show!

But by now I’m sure everyone knows that BlogTV.sg’s telecast was pushed back unexpectedly.

But I bet you didn’t know why…It happened because of our close brush with H1N1.

June 24, Wednesday
0918 hrs
English Current Affairs (Eng CA) Boss receives a phone call to alert her that our trainee has H1N1. The boss jumps, literally. 5 of us are in the office. We wonder what the fuss is all about.

0925 hrs
The rest of our department receives news that the trainee has been tested positive for H1N1.They are to work from home today. Unfortunately, I’m in the office already. To leave or not to leave? Immediately, my mind goes into rewind mode, like a sudden mind map, I recount all the moments I was in contact with the trainee.

0930 hrs
2 more producers arrive at that time. They hear the news, and stand outside the office, not knowing what to do.

1000 hrs
Masks and thermometers are disseminated to Eng CA. Everyone in office are told to take their temperatures immediately. Rarely do you see us move this quickly especially on a Wednesday morning, before our shots of caffeine. It feels like SARS all over again, just that this time, we are the victims.

1005 hrs
One producer is identified as having had the most frequent contact with the trainee. She is immediately sent off to the hospital to do a test. Everyone is a little nervous, me included.

I start to feel a little feverish, sniffle a little, is it all in the mind?

1012 hrs
News travels quickly within the organization. As quickly as the virus, I must say. What do we expect, afterall ours is a broadcasting station. The Camera Unit is the first to hear that English Current Affairs has a H1N1 case. Their manager jumps, and wants to know if any of her cameramen has had contact with the H1N1 trainee.

One cameraman who was in the same room as her the day before, is identified. He is immediately quarantined. Meanwhile, news slowly spreads to the rest of MediaCorp, even to the canteen uncles and the cleaning aunties. This is to be the start of a lonely 10 day period for Eng CA.

1015 hrs
7 more producers and editors come into office, all unaware of the drama that is unfolding. All are told to ‘go home’ immediately by The Boss. Hmmm, it’s a new feeling, to be told by The Boss to head home at the start of a work day. Being the ever devoted employee, I decide to stay on in the office. After all, I have to make sure that my programme makes it on air, H1N1 or not. As they say, the show must go on!

1017hrs
Being the responsible producers that we are, we immediately inform our BlogTV.sg presenters, Phin and FD. They were the only two who had prolonged contact with the trainee on the day of the dry run.

Both swing into action immediately, by informing their bosses, and quarantining themselves.

Blogtv.sg has to be postponed indefinitely.

1020 hrs
The Boss, who has been down with the flu, leaves the office and goes to the doctor.

1022 hrs
Human Resource personnel come to our unit to question producers on their contact with the infected trainee, and to ascertain that she didn’t have contact with the studio crew at last night’s BlogTV.sg dry run. Our unit is henceforth labeled as the ‘infected area’. This must be how the lepers have felt.

1048 hrs
First Directive Received:
“With immediate effect, we have to segregate access along the corridors on Levels 2, 3 and 4.

1] All staff producing the news, seated in the Assignments Area, CNA studio, Graphics and Business Areas DO NOT go by the English CA corridor.
2] Similarly, for English CA unit to go out of the building using the glass door or the mosaic stairwell. Do not go via Business unit and beyond.
3] All other units, please use only the stairwells (mosaic) at the ends of the buildings. Do not go via Level 2 corridors.

This is the instruction for now. We will review through the day. Please watch out.”

It was the last 3 words which scared me!

1114 hrs
Second Directive Received:
“Risk Management is asking all staff on Level 2 and those who come into common contact e.g editing and media management to wear surgical masks and to start taking temperature, with immediate effect.”

You mean there is a risk management unit?! My colleagues and I start clowning around with our masks, drawing funny faces on it, only to be told to ‘take it seriously’.

Michael Jackson, is dat chu?

  

1144 hrs
The head of Human Resource does contact tracing with trainee. Trainee was found to have direct contact with 15 people from the Eng CA office in a birthday celebration the day before. Oh dear.

1145 hrs
3 Astronaut-looking men in white suits enter our office to disinfect the “critical areas”. Producers are told to stand in a straight line, close their eyes, and rotate. We are all sprayed with what looks like a dengue mosquito fogger. We are also told to leave the office for an hour. Before we left, we took many pictures. It feels eerily like a scene from Outbreak.

 

1150hrs
The rest of us stroll to the canteen. In true Singaporean style, we decide to use our masks to “chope” the table. People start eyeballing us. I think our designer masks looked better than the tissue packets others are using.

1220 hrs
Another Human Resource lady sees us in the canteen. She pointedly tells us that we’re not supposed to eat together in groups in the canteen. Our ever-polite assistant producer asks innocently if it’s better for us to spread out. The lady laughs nervously and hurries away. We still feel like lepers.

1245 hrs
Disinfecting astronauts move to Studio 5, where the BlogTV.sg dry run was recorded the night before. Unfortunately, Studio 5 doors are closed because the sole set of keys have been drawn out by some guy who is out for lunch. Disinfecting Astronauts wait patiently outside.

1300 hrs
Producers can finally go back to the office. Disinfecting astronauts stand waiting. One producer, who changes her jacket upon returning from the canteen, is singled out to be disinfected again. It really doesn’t pay to be fashionable. Tsk.

1307 hrs
Producer who had close contact with infected trainee tests Negative for Influenza A. We rejoice. One small step for English CA!

1320 hrs
2 men in plainclothes, suspiciously looking like the earlier disinfecting astronauts, come into our office with a bucket of yellow-chlorine like solution (we shall refer to this as Chemical X) and asks to be directed to the trainee’s table. This table is now known as the ‘extremely infected area’. They proceed to wipe it down meticulously with Chemical X.

1412 hrs
The boss tests Negative for Influenza A.

1414 hrs
Third Directive Received
“HR lady has been busy with contact tracing, and indeed it was a nightmarish job. Anybody else if there is any slight symptom, or you feel unwell, please go to the doctor. This will be a period of inconvenience. So teamwork is really paramount for another to chip in to edit or film if need be. I’m sure we will get through this fine.”

One thing we English CA Producers are good at is teamwork. Within minutes, we split filming and editing tasks amongst the teams. As I’ve said, the show must go on!

1530 hrs
The two men with Chemical X return to wipe down ‘extremely infected’ table again.

They proceed to disinfect the transcribing deck which is frequently used by the trainee. Now you know what our trainee has to do most of the time. Anyhow, we must be the cleanest unit in MediaCorp now. We smell like a hospital.

1546 hrs
Fourth Directive Received
“ We have been keeping you informed of the precautionary measures MediaCorp is taking to contain the spread of the H1N1 virus.

The medical authorities have confirmed that a trainee working in our TV building has contracted the H1N1 virus. However, her exposure to other staff is limited due to the recent one week break (15 to 19 June). The trainee is now in hospital. Those who have been exposed to her are being notified, and taking precautionary measures in line with the Health Ministry’s guidelines. The affected work area has been disinfected, and staff in critical/common contact areas are required to wear masks.

Business will continue as usual, and we will monitor the situation and keep you updated.

A reminder to staff: Those who are unwell are advised to stay away from work and to seek immediate medical attention. We seek you understanding and cooperation on this matter.”

1557 hrs
Being a broadcasting station, the second thing we did after spreading the news, is to do a news story on our very own H1N1 case. Check out the print version below, and the news clip in Exclusively Online!

1625hrs
Fifth Directive Received
“Dear Supervisors of critical ops areas,
Risk Management would require all personnel working in critical ops areas to put on surgical mask and measure your body temperature twice daily whilst working in CBC compound. This measure will have to be implemented with IMMEDIATE effect until further notice is given.”

We learn that we are one of the 15 Critical Operations units in Mediacorp! Woohoo! We matter!

1730 hrs
Chemical X men strike again to disinfect the infected area. One wonders if it is possible to over–kill germs. But I really appreciate the quick and thorough efforts of the company to combat the spread of the virus . Because we broadcast 24/7, 365-days a year, we cannot afford to have an outbreak within Mediacorp.

1923 hrs
Sixth Directive Received
“English CA staff are discouraged from eating in groups in the canteen.”

And with that, our fate as a leper’s colony was sealed.

As of July 3 2009, Friday, no other producers developed fever or any flu-like symptoms. The 10-day quarantine on English CA is lifted. The trainee has fully recovered and is back in the office, transcribing the tonne of tapes waiting lovingly for her  It feels great to finally be able to walk freely in Mediacorp and eat normally in the canteen!

English CA