The C Word

Coping Under Coronavirus:

THREE ACCOUNTS OF LIFE DURING A PANDEMIC

As COVID-19 cases climb across the globe, it can be tempting to talk about the current pandemic in faceless numbers and data. In some way or another, though, everyone is facing big challenges as we adjust to the new normal way of life under a novel virus. We speak with three Hongkongers about how life has changed for them since the coronavirus outbreak. By Carla Thomas

THE QUARANTINED

A 28-year-old teacher, Lily was moved to a quarantine centre after her father tested positive for the coronavirus following a business trip to the UK early last month. From a hotel in the New Territories designated for quarantine cases, Lily (whose name has been changed at her request to protect her privacy) describes what life is like living in self-isolation.

Q What’s an average day like in a quarantine camp? An average day in quarantine begins at 8:15AM. We get a knock on the door letting us know that we’ve received bottles of water, new bin bags and sets of masks. There is a second knock on the door at 8:30AM where we have to get out of bed, wear our mask and greet two medical workers who check our temperature. We remind them of our names and they cheerfully let us know we don’t have a fever.

After this we make ourselves breakfast. We packed a ton of cereal, granola and bagels. We are very fortunate that there’s a fridge where we are

20 staying. The rest of the day passes with phone calls, meditation and exercise. Near our room is this small terrace where we’ve placed our yoga mat and we can sit and enjoy the quiet. When we feel stir crazy, there’s a courtyard where you can walk around. We chat to some of the other people in quarantine, sharing stories and tips to get us through the time here.

A doctor usually calls us mid-morning to check on us, asking if we’re showing any symptoms or if we need anything. We have our final temperature check of the day at 4PM. We have an early dinner, as meal time seems to be the most exciting time of day. Every few days, family and friends send us packed salads and supplies from Marks & Spencer and juices from nood.

This experience has made us feel really grateful to know how much effort the Hong Kong government has really put into containing the spread of coronavirus. “ “

Q What was the process like of being moved to the quarantine centre? This was quite stressful! When our dad was diagnosed, we were called by staff members from the Health Department asking us about our contact with him, where we’d been, our names, ID card numbers. Dad was diagnosed on a Thursday evening, and we were told to self-isolate until they organised our transfer. We were told we would be moved to a quarantine facility, and they let us know which one in advance. My mom was in Ruttonjee Hospital with my dad, and once her test was negative she was moved Friday evening. Government officials picked us up Saturday morning to give us time to find someone to watch our dogs for two weeks. Thankfully, since my mom arrived first, we were able to see where we were staying and packed accordingly.

We were picked up in a shuttle bus; leaving the building was incredibly stressful, especially with our neighbours staring and panicking around us. We were greeted on the bus by a medical worker in full gear, he checked our temperatures and we were on our way.

Q How did you feel going into the quarantine centre? Do you feel any differently now that you're almost finished? Honestly, we were incredibly scared and resistant to being moved into a quarantine centre. Once word in the building spread, however, it was the safest move for us. People were too scared to know we were home, and we were feeling stressed being surrounded by that energy. We felt a total sense of relief when we arrived, especially when we saw how nice it was here. The medical workers are kind and compassionate, they have made us feel safe and welcome in every way. They’ve given us a WhatsApp number to contact if we need anything and they’ve allowed us to have food sent in from the outside. There’s also a community feeling here - we’re all in the same position, there’s no judgment. Everyone is supportive and we are grateful that we have been well looked after. We’ve had our moments of feeling down along the way, but this experience has made us feel really grateful to know how much effort the Hong Kong government has really put into containing the spread of coronavirus.

Q What has your father’s experience with the actual COVID-19 virus been like? We are grateful that our dad is doing really well. The doctors have experienced and learned painful lessons from SARS and have been proactive. They have him on a treatment protocol and really put all our minds at ease. My dad is asthmatic and was in that high-risk category; because of early testing and the treatment protocol, the virus never spread to his lungs and he only had a mild case.

He’s found the experience to be mentally draining, as you are in isolation [during recovery]. Your only contact with medical professionals is when they need to come in - and when they do they’re in full gear and the doctor speaks through a telephone. The tests they do to check for the virus are painful; there’s one where they insert a thick tube up your nose which goes down to the throat. He said that has been agonising, and it’s something they do on him every day.

THE DOCTOR

Dr. Joyce Lai is a family physician at private

healthcare clinic OT&P Healthcare in Central. From longer days and strict protocols, to teaching patients how to self-administer tests for COVID-19, she explains how life on the front lines is always changing.

Q What’s it like working in a medical environment since the COVID-19 outbreak? Firstly, there are many more meetings and discussions that must be held as we have to consider exact procedures on how we screen patients and what additional measures we can take to safeguard our patients as well as everyone in the workplace (eg. mask usage, additional cleaning/disinfecting, more hand sanitisers).

The other big change is that I’m now doing telephone consultations for COVID-19 testing and video consultations for anyone not feeling well, but who are under quarantine or prefer not to come to the clinic. We mustn’t forget that besides COVID-19 there are still patients getting sick all the time. This has become both a practical and sensible measure to protect all parties. For example, during phone discussions, I will walk patients through how to do the Deep Throat Saliva Test for COVID-19, assess their unique circumstances, explain the false positives and negatives, and implications of testing positive.

Q How has your day-to-day changed for you? My days are longer now. With such a rapidly changing situation we are learning more every day about COVID-19 and what we can do about it. I’ve been creating videos online, from

discussing how to properly wash your hands, to protecting your home, to how we test for COVID-19. I couldn’t just stand by after seeing the sheer magnitude of misleading and false information circulating. We are dealing with the pandemic of COVID-19 but also the pandemic of anxiety.

Undoubtedly, this is a challenging time for healthcare workers, as we are the first point of contact and we carry a certain degree of risk. We all have families and dependents we want to keep safe as well. Luckily at work there is a very good morale with my team and we all check on each other regularly as we move through the pandemic. We also use our experience during SARS to give us foresight to better fight the COVID-19.

However, I represent only one small piece of the front line of our healthcare system. We shouldn’t forget the nurses, the people on our team who handle the logistics of making the COVID-19 tests available, those ensuring we have enough safety equipment, and the cleaning staff and couriers - they are all taking a risk to be there for patients.

Q What’s the most common question you get asked about the virus? “Do you think I have it? What should I do if I’ve been exposed?” This is a loaded question, because it depends on the interplay between your own health, the virus load [quantity of virus], exposure time, the distance and your hygiene compliance. To be honest, I wish I could give them a definitive answer. For some patients, while they have been notified of a definite exposure (such as a confirmed case on a plane or in the gym or in the office), it can be more uncertain for others. Testing too prematurely to the exposure date may not provide as conclusive a result as there is an incubation period. Everybody’s story is different and I do my best to help them analyse their individual circumstances and counsel them.

We are the first point of contact and we carry a certain degree of risk. We all have families and dependents we want to keep safe as well. “ “

Q What’s your best advice on staying well right now? Don’t belittle the disease, and always pay attention to any symptoms. We need everyone to be a conscientious and responsible citizen. Meanwhile, stay optimistic and don’t be too stressed. Call your doctor if you have any questions or concerns because that’s what they are here for. Staying well during these times is extra important as our primary defense is our own immune system. I advise all patients to find ways to exercise at home, eat well-balanced meals, optimise vitamin C to strengthen their immune system, sleep more, and find outlets to destress, such as exploring hobbies. We might not be able to control everything happening around us but we should take care of those things which we can.

THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP

Ever wonder what really goes on when you bed down for the night? The Belun Ring, originally designed to screen for sleep apnea, is a groundbreaking medical device that gives you unprecedented data to track the quality of your sleep. We speak to Belun Ring inventor Lydia Leung and Jarl Borthwick, the founder of health screening comparison site Zanolife, which offers the Belun Ring sleep test on its platform.

Q What is the Belun Ring? Lydia: The Belun Ring is a medical-grade wearable device which allows you to monitor your sleep health at home, in the comfort of your own bed. It is a diagnostic aid and monitoring device for sleep apnea and also analyses autonomic nervous system response and your lung function during sleep.

Q What is sleep apnea? Lydia: Sleep apnea is a highly-underdiagnosed sleep disorder. An individual will stop breathing during their sleep, often for more than 10 seconds at a time and multiple times per hour. Its symptoms include excessive daytime sleepiness; morning headaches and sore throats; insomnia with repeated awakenings; snoring; and an increased need for nighttime urination.

Q Why is it important to diagnose sleep apnea? Lydia: The body recovers, restores and regenerates during sleep. Sleep apnea hinders one's ability to achieve a healthy sleep cycle. Poor sleep and sleep apnea are associated with a number of serious health conditions including Alzheimer’s, stroke, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes amongst others.

Q And the ring measures sleep stress as well? Jarl: The ring measures your heart rate variability (HRV), which is how the ai analyses your autonomic nervous system response, thereby giving a good indication of your stress levels. If you are not getting good quality sleep for whatever reason, it can have a hugely negative impact on your health. For me, to see my sleep quality on paper was a fascinating insight and it really helped me to kick-start a more healthy mode of living, which included returning to sport, re-starting qi gong and taking up transcendental meditation. Healthy living begins with positive lifestyle choices - the Belun ring really helped me to see this!

Q How can I get my hands on a Belun ring? Jarl: We promote the ring to different groups and also individuals on our zanolife. hk platform. We offer the ring on our web platform, zanolife.hk, in our Sleep Analysis section. You can hire the ring from us for a minimum of three nights to really get a good understanding of your sleep quality. We also work with some insurers to offer it to their clients - it’s great to see insurance providers become more interested in health and wellness. We also give sleep health seminars to corporates. It is our mission to spread the importance of sleep health far and wide. Sponsored Feature

BELUN RING FAST FACTS

What does the Belun Ring measure? The ring can measure oxygen saturation, heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), respiratory events index (REI) autonomic nervous system response during the course of the night, and your motion.

How is the Belun Ring different from my smartwatch? The measurements that the Belun Ring is taking are done to a medical grade level. It is an FDA 510(k) Cleared medical grade device..

Learn more about the Belun Ring at zanolife.hk

I am finding I need to hug my children a lot and speak openly about how I feel to my friends. “ “

THE STAYAT-HOME MUM

Charlotte Douglas, 46, is a yoga instructor who lives on Lamma with her husband and two teenage daughters. Life has significantly changed for her since schools closed over the Chinese New Year period, as both her work and her children’s education have moved online for the foreseeable future.

Q How has life changed for you in the past two months? A lot has changed and a lot has also not changed. My children and husband are both at home a lot. We’re around each other way more now, and I find myself thinking about stuff on a daily basis that I wouldn’t normally have to. Things like ensuring my children have a daily structure, that they get out each day to exercise, that we have enough food in the fridge since they’re eating at home more - mundane stuff mostly. It’s amazing what schools do for us, really.

Professionally, it has been a mixed bag; venues have shut down and clients have either had to leave for family reasons or are in selfisolation. A lot of my work has gone online but the studio I work at is still open, and I have a few small groups that still meet (though we wash our hands, clean the surfaces and take a lot more care than we used to). I am constantly amazed by how many are willing to show up for an online class. Teaching group classes online is new for me, so

I’m actually learning some new skills. Personally, it’s been up and down; everything changes daily but as the global scale has increased it has become harder to keep the anxious thoughts at bay. I am finding I need to hug my children a lot and speak openly about how I feel to my friends. Staying connected to those I love brings me back to the ground when I am spiralling out a little.

Q How are you managing homeschooling? I generally am letting them manage themselves; there’s a lot of trust involved as we all work in different ways. My children are teenagers and one was due to take her GCSEs this year. Now that they’re cancelled...we’re disappointed for them all, both teachers and students, but I think we have to accept that this is a global issue now. We’re doing OK and I think the schools will make a plan for students after Easter. Until then, I’m just offering my daughter a chance to pick up some projects that she would not normally have time to do. I’m thankful to live on Lamma where they have space to go out for a walk and head to the beach when they need to clear their heads. We have got some tutors working with us as there are areas where extra support is needed but other than that, we’ll just have to see where we are once everything gets back to normal.

Q What has most surprised you about the whole experience? What have you learned? I wish I could say the panic buying truly surprised me - although the loo roll thing was a bit weird. What I have learned is that as humans, we are adaptable and resilient and capable of so much kindness. I have learned that I have some really great friends and a wonderful family capable of good humour - even when it all feels a bit bleak. Cover Story

Yoga classes for children and teenagers taught by Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher Alison Drake, founder of OmSkool Yoga. Alison is passionate about the physical and mental wellbeing of children in Hong Kong.

Traditional yoga poses to develop balance, strength and flexibility are taught alongside calming breathing exercises and guided meditations. Children and teenagers are taught strategies to self-regulate their emotions and develop coping mechanisms for stress and anxiety. Classes are taught in an age-appropriate style that keeps young yogis engaged.

Alison is a former primary school teacher with over 10 years experience in education.

website: www.omskoolyoga.com | email: alison@omskoolyoga.com Instagram: omskool_yoga | tel: 9503 5434