"Scary? Not At All" - COVID-19 Patient Shares Quarantine Experience At MAEPS Serdang
"Comfortable and clean. You can see for yourself."
A COVID-19 patient has taken to Twitter to share his positive experience of being quarantined at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) centre in Selangor
Twitter user Afifie Chan hoped that his messages would show the real situation in the quarantine centres, which is not as bad as others found it to be.
Currently still housed in MAEPS, where low-risk COVID-19 patients are sent for their mandatory 10-day quarantine after testing postive, he posted videos and photos to his Instagram Stories, answering questions he had from his followers since his admission on 7 January.Afifie showed that the place is generally clean, well-maintained, and that the patients are all well cared for by the staff
When asked if the place was as scary as it looks, he answered, "Scary? Not at all. Comfortable and clean. You can see for yourself."
He shared a video and explained that many patients have hung white sheets on the bed frames to block out the glaring lights that are on 24 hours.
He added that there are six toilets around the hall, with four to six cubicles in each, that was enough to supply all the patients.
"So far, I have not needed to queue or wait to use the toilets," he tweeted.
As for hygiene, he said not to expect hotel standards, but the toilets and showers were clean and comfortable enough to be used.
Regarding food, Afifie had no issues and said that food is served three times a day and tasted alright
He wrote that food is normally sent right to their beds and patients often help the quarantine centre's staff to distribute the food.
"Patients also help to serve the food because there aren't many staff and there are thousands of us. I love the spirit in here. We are in this together," he said.
Image via @AfifieChan (Twitter)
Meanwhile, when asked why the beds were all placed so close to each other with worries regarding physical distancing, Afifie replied that since they were all positive patients, they were no longer infectious to each other
He explained that was what he understood and heard from the staff and nurses, and that it was okay for them to share facilities. However, he welcomed doctors to explain more on how and why.
Afifie added that foreigners and locals were housed in separate halls to make it easier for registration, observations, and announcements to be carried out.
In his hall, announcements are made in Bahasa Malaysia and he showed that he has enjoyed the friendliness of the nurses, who often comically deliver the messages and also kindly serve each patient their medications one by one.
Afifie told his followers not to worry about heat in the halls too, a common Malaysian worry, as the hall was air-conditioned
However, he pointed out it would be good for patients to bring extra blankets as it could also be freezing cold.
He said patients also bring their own entertainment in form of books and games to while their time away in quarantine. He has seen people play mobile games, watch Netflix, and listen to music as there are ample charging stations around the hall to charge their devices.
While his experience has been great, Afifie said the thing he would remember most about his quarantine was the "Maze Runner" entrance
He described that new patients are often greeted with a warm welcome as the shutter door to the building would always loudly creak open and the patients in the hall would cheer their arrival.
"It's like in a movie... The cheers are to lift the spirits so the newcomers won't feel afraid. What a spirit in here," he said.
Remember to limit your movement and wash your hands often. Watch the latest update on the COVID-19 situation:
Last week, videos and photos of the same quarantine centre crowded with people were making Malaysians worry:
Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has warned that the "worst is yet to come" with regards to the COVID-19 situation in Malaysia:
Read more COVID-19 stories on SAYS:
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