Case 83, a 54-year-old Singaporean man with no recent travel history to China... first reported symptoms on Jan 28 and saw a general practitioner (GP) on Feb 1, 5, 6 and 10 before going to NCID on Tuesday. He was confirmed to have the infection the next morning.
From 28 January to 11 February (15 days), this man did not know that he had the Covid19. He probably thought that he had had no recent travel history to China and so, he assumed that all he had was the common cold.
The thing is this, Singaporeans AND Chinese nationals tend to be very lax about social hygiene. My mother-in-law assumes that she does not have the Covid19 and thus sneezes without restraint. I can hear her from wherever I am in the house. The Singaporean lady who smacked me on the forehead at Chong Pang Market, she too assumed that she was not carrying the Covid19, and thus sneezed at a whole queue of people PLUS a whole long table of patrons, without restraint. This morning, I went for yoga class. The trainer came in looking pale, and complained of being cold. When one suddenly feels cold, there is a chance that one is running a fever. She also insisted on not switching on the aircon. A yoga class participant came in with a phlegmy cough. He too believed that he was not carrying the virus, because he was not masked. No aircon. Sealed room. One coughing pax and a pale looking instructor who felt cold. I rolled up my yoga mat and went home.
I quarrelled with The Husband one night because he came home sniffly and snotted happily at me from the other side of our bed as if it were nothing. He kept saying people at work are sniffly and it CANNOT be Covid19 because it does not FEEL like it! So good hor... my hub can FEEL Covid19 one leh. No need to do lab test lohhhh... Queue up outside Pet’s house and let my hub FEEL your virus.
This guy HERE, also did not FEEL like he had the Covid19.
This guy HERE, also did not FEEL like he had the Covid19.
This type of Sloppiness about Snottiness is the reason why new clusters form and new unlinked cases appear! These folks assume that their snot is ...
- only allergy
- not the Covid19
... and thus, they take no steps to protect others.
My guess is that despite a very high performing government, the spread of Covid19 is inevitable because Singaporeans simply don't have a clue about how their actions affect others. I wrote about the risk of infection at the Sembawang Hot Springs HERE. When that post went viral, someone wrote me a comment citing the bible and accusing me of ...
- not being chill
- seeing the mote in my neighbour's eye without seeing the log in my own
- telling me that he/she had been frequenting the hot spring for years and people there don't nitpick and try to get along.
Basically, I was told that I was not being convivial simply for pointing out issues of interpersonal hygiene! I wonder if this man also feels that other people should chill when he sneezes into the air, in public.
At times like these, I want to point out some advantages to being autistic. Autistic people see the world in black and white. By nature, I worry little about the various shades of grey. If TV is bad for children, we simply had no TV. No such thing as have a TV and sometimes we watch and other times, we don't. Children don't understand gradations of grey. I don't either. If something is good, we will have it. If it is bad, we don't have it. We did not own a TV because it was psychologically bad for children's brains.
Autistic people also are not very sensitive to what others think. It never bothered me that guests would come visit us and we had no TV. It bothered The Husband greatly. Me, I am more focused on the damage that TV will do to my children's brains. It won't occur to me to think of how my friends would view me for NOT having a TV.
In fact, one lady said of my children that they would grow up only booksmart (not streetsmart) for never being exposed to enough stimulation from TV. I just shrugged and got on with life, sans TV. Oh well... at PSLE, hers qualified for Normal stream. Mine went to ACS(I). Hers could not grasp the essentials of a card game requiring subterfuge and strategy. Hers hates to read. Mine loves to read. When you consider that Bill Gates, the world's richest man, reads 23 books a week, then I know that books are better than TV. Mine topped his year for fundraising. Did hers? Why is mine not street smart simply because he watched no TV?
It was not logical. So, I ignored her.
Conviviality VS Social Hygiene
Apparently, there are some things that just aren't socially acceptable: like refusing to attend CNY parties for fear of Covid19 or speaking out when a stranger sneezes into your face. When you go out with your snotty friend, and she does not wear a mask, you are supposed to smile and bear with it so as not to hurt her feelings.
When a stranger sneezes into my face, who is being UNconvivial? Me or that stranger?
When a man pours his foot bath onto my eggs, who is being UNconvivial? Me or that man?
At the same time, these same people, shun nurses and doctors who take every precaution to disinfect themselves. Their own lives and those of their children are at risk, ok. They certainly don't subscribe to sloppiness about snottiness. Why are autistic people always accused of lacking conviviality when all we are doing is calling a spade a spade, and seeing things in clearly logical terms, and taking logical decisions? I think neurotypical people are...
- not logical
- lacking in empathy
- lacking in conviviality.
Somehow, it is I who am accused of lacking conviviality when I call out such behaviours.
Mortality Rate
Outside of Hubei, the mortality rate of Covid19 is 0.2%. The flu has a mortality rate of 0.1%. I have concluded that this virus is nothing to be feared.
New Habits
Nonetheless, upper respiratory illnesses are not fun. Whatever the fatality rate, I am not keen to catch any. At home, we have all sorts of remedies to stop an upper respiratory illness before it even starts.
- goldenseal nasal spray
- propolis nasal spray
- echinacea flower tea
- astragalus soup
Also, through this experience, I learnt that having a low EQ can be a good thing.
New Note On Chan Chun Sing's Straight Talk
I am absolutely floored that some netizens are criticising Chan Chun Sing for his straight talk. In the process of trying to save lives, Chan Chun Sing hurt some people's feelings. Ok what? This appreciation for the hard truth said in bald terms is also an autistic trait. Give me the logic and I will thank you for saving me from worse consequences than my own hurt feelings.
Some things, even I don't know how to say nicely. You bought 16 bags of 10 kg rice. You're an idiot. However nicely you say that, the truth still hurts.
I don't like politicians with very high EQ. I always feel that they are dishonest and say only what people want to hear.
Mortality Rate
Outside of Hubei, the mortality rate of Covid19 is 0.2%. The flu has a mortality rate of 0.1%. I have concluded that this virus is nothing to be feared.
New Habits
Nonetheless, upper respiratory illnesses are not fun. Whatever the fatality rate, I am not keen to catch any. At home, we have all sorts of remedies to stop an upper respiratory illness before it even starts.
- goldenseal nasal spray
- propolis nasal spray
- echinacea flower tea
- astragalus soup
Also, through this experience, I learnt that having a low EQ can be a good thing.
New Note On Chan Chun Sing's Straight Talk
I am absolutely floored that some netizens are criticising Chan Chun Sing for his straight talk. In the process of trying to save lives, Chan Chun Sing hurt some people's feelings. Ok what? This appreciation for the hard truth said in bald terms is also an autistic trait. Give me the logic and I will thank you for saving me from worse consequences than my own hurt feelings.
Some things, even I don't know how to say nicely. You bought 16 bags of 10 kg rice. You're an idiot. However nicely you say that, the truth still hurts.
I don't like politicians with very high EQ. I always feel that they are dishonest and say only what people want to hear.
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