​Ms Julie Tay, midwife and Assistant Director, Nursing, Division of Nursing, KKH

 

On 21 March 2020, the Delivery Suite received our first case of a pregnant woman with COVID-19.

As a midwife, I was part of the dedicated team established to look after pregnant women who are suspected to have COVID-19.

Due to safe distancing measures, when the patient was brought in, we had to be innovative in using tone of voice and gestures to comfort her and provide assurance. We also kept her anxious family members closely updated via phone calls. In the days following, the patient recovered and was discharged well.

When battling infectious diseases, the most critical strategy is speed in reaction and anticipation to delay the spread of the virus.

Our team’s past experiences battling SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in 2003 have stood us in good stead as we continue working to keep the virus out every minute of every hour of every day.