COVID-19

Co-Founder of Lunch Actually Tested Positive for COVID-19 & Relates Her Experience

2020-04-03 , 9:39 am

Lunch Actually is a dating service in Singapore which has expanded massively in the past few years.

And it’s co-founded by this incredible lady, Violet Lim.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) does not reveal the specific details of Covid-19 patients, only naming them in terms of cases because of social stigma associated with Covid-19.

However, several patients came forward of their own volition to give thanks to the medical workers who helped them to recover.

And Violet Lim is the latest Covid-19 patient to come forward.

“Not An April Fool’s Joke”

On 2 Apr 2020, Violet Lim took to her Facebook to share her experience of being a Covid-19 patient.

She started off with a joke, saying that her condition wasn’t an “April Fool’s Joke”.

For those who didn’t catch it, she’s probably referring to people like the Korean singer who pretended to have Covid-19 as a prank (read: to catch more attention).

Being Socially Responsible

She highlighted that ever since the Covid-19 outbreak happened in Singapore, she has been careful.

Since the spread of Covid-19 in Singapore in late-January, I have been cautious. Cautious in the sense of washing and disinfecting my hands regularly, not going to crowded places and even cancelling my 40th birthday celebration in February to avoid brigning together large crowds.

Her company has arranged for both onsite and offsite teams in Mid-February and she clarified that she belonged to the offsite team, neither meeting her teammates nor meeting up with any team members who had to interact with members of the public.

Her Experience At NCID

On 25 Mar, she woke up feeling unwell and wondered if she was exhibiting Covid-19 symptoms.

Worried, she went to her GP whom, after hearing about her travel history and examining her, sent her to NCID for testing.

When she reached NCID, she related that patients were placed at least 1-metre apart from one another.

Healthcare workers also attended to them in full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

She added that the healthcare workers were positive and upbeat, which was a surprise given how they had to deal with patients all day long.

Tested Positive

At 1pm the next day, she received a call from NCID, telling her that she was tested positive for Covid-19.

The ambulance arrived within the hour and she was brought on board.

She was told to sit at the end of the ambulance as there must be a 1-metre distance between her and the driver who was in full PPE as well.

She remembered that he was very nice and apologetic about it.

Her driver is Mr Nasir, a 64-year-old man who has 6 grandchildren and has been driving suspected, as well as confirmed Covid-19 patients since the outbreak began.

He shared with me that even though there’s a certain degree of risk in his job, he does it because he wants to do his part to help and contribute.

During the trip, he shared with her about his job and comforted her through the journey.

Wishing Her The Best Recovery

Not everyone who is infected with Covid-19 will bravely step forward to identify themselves.

After all, there’s a certain stigma associated with being infected with the disease. Just look at how healthcare workers are treated at the beginning of the outbreak.

But kudos to Ms Violet Lim who stepped forward anyway, revealing her personal experience and giving thanks to the healthcare workers who helped patients despite everything that has happened, and the danger that they’re in all the time.

We hope that she will have a speedy recovery and that her family, who are going to test for Covid-19, will be well.

You can read her full post below:

You can do your part as a responsible citizen through helping out in contact tracing by downloading the TraceTogether app.

In the meantime, keep yourself updated by bookmarking MOH’s website here and registering for the Gov.sg’s WhatsApp service here.