hullo and swine flu?

first post here! :)

thus begins my working life come monday morning.

my tiny island has been hit hard, not by swine flu itself but by precautionary measures.
we've learnt our lesson from the SARS 5 years ago, and now all measures are being ramped up slowly but surely.

we're now operating on an Orange Alert level, up from the Yellow Alert we previously had.
that means, come monday, i'll be wearing N95 masks and full protective gear in the wards.

my juniors have been told in no uncertain terms to cancel their overseas electives and to return home ASAP and be self-quarantined for 7 to 14 days or risk disciplinary action.
other juniors have all been barred from the wards till further notice.

my seniors (the current batch of interns) have been told they'll stay in the same postings, there will be no changeover to their next rotation until further notice. (this has made them very unhappy)

all visitors to hospitals are now screened for fevers and made to write down contact numbers, and are limited to 2 per patient.

it's all very scary and rather over my head, i'm just trying to keep on my feet here and hopefully i'll survive this! :\

i don't know what will happen, but hopefully i'll be able to blog as it moves on. SARS before i entered medical school, swine flu after i graduate! what a batch we have.

we were mask fitted for draeger masks on thursday, because USA supplies our N95 masks and they're keeping all stock for themselves right now. thankfully draeger fits me better so i can't complain.

but oh my, i really really hate wearing the masks!!! the sweat, the discomfort. the immense difficulty i face trying to hear people (i usually partially lip read to help me understand!). it's all made for very tough times.

hope you all are safe elsewhere in the world!!!!