What To Do If You Think You Have COVID-19

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background image by Terri Sharp from Pixabay

This morning I got an alarming message on WhatsApp; a concerned family member shared a press conference by JK Pengurusan Bencana Sarawak naming my church as a cluster for COVID-19 & urging "those who have attended gatherings or are in close contact with those who have attended them to go to the nearest hospital for the necessary health screening". Stating, "it is very important to you & everyone else". See https://youtu.be/z2c7SmKJD3w?t=2224

We were asymptomatic but the announcement was alarming enough that my wife & I packed up with our 1 year old baby to head out to Sarawak General Hospital immediately. Fortunately, friends in the medical profession told us to stay home. An asymptomatic church member also called to share her experience at the hospital. They just took her temperature & told her to stay home. She wasted hours & risked being exposed to the virus.

No fever, no cough, no flu, no difficulty breathing? STAY HOME!

DON'T go to the hospital & expose yourself or your family. They will NOT test you if you have NO symptoms; even if you had close contact with the infected. Stay home, self-quarantine for 14 days. High-risk clusters need to call hotline. Pegawai kesihatan will assess &, if necessary, call you in for testing. At home, hydrate (isolated patients are only given lots & lots of fluids), take vitamin C, have a balanced diet, & exercise.

I have symptoms, how?

Take a moment. Calm down. Don't panic.
The Malaysian Medical Association advised members of the public to FIRST phone or email the health ministry’s Crisis Preparedness & Response Centre (CPRC). See
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/03/15/think-you-have-covid-19-call-crisis-centre-says-mma/

CPRC National Hotlines: 03-88810200, 03-88810600 and 03-88810700.
WhatsApp: 010-9699435, and 010-8608949
Email address: cprc@moh.gov.my
CPRC Sarawak: 082-443248

24-hour National CPRC Hotlines
taken from KKM's Facebook page
State CPRC contact info
taken from infosihat.gov.my

Other Resources:

- MalaysiaKini has a excellent website tracking the COVID-19 in Malaysia: https://newslab.malaysiakini.com/covid-19/en
- Follow the CPRC Facebook page for updates on the COVID-19 outbreak: https://www.facebook.com/kkmcprc/
- Follow the Sarawak Disaster Info Facebook page for updates specific to Sarawak: https://www.facebook.com/pg/SarawakDisasterInfo/
- Good explanation video for COVID-19 in 15 minutes: https://youtu.be/f8EkPSfqaYI
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COVID-19 Precautions + Hotlines in Sarawak
taken from Sarawak Disaster Info Facebook page

Remember, the best way to defeat this virus is to stay at home! All the best, Malaysia! Let's keep praying & don't give up! We'll get through this!

To our front-liners, especially those in the medical profession. A heartfelt thank you for risking your lives to keep all of us safe!

Thanks, Dr Esther & Dr Hazel, for fact-checking this post.

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