Patient at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) tests positive for SARS.

This is the headline on the front page of today's Straits Times. Sure beats yesterday's -- a photo of remisier Peter Lim and his new wife prancing around on a bartop with a scantily clad, er, "dancer".

The news probably broke yesterday in the journalistic circuit, and healthcare workers were alerted as of last night, but of course, I didn't think it was appropriate to post anything till the facts were confirmed.

At about 9 or 10 pm yesterday, when I was about to finish my afternoon shift, our registrar made her rounds in the ER, quietly whispering the latest developments. I wasn't told that the man in question had tested positive for the SARS virus. Rather, he was "suspected" to have the condition, and had been warded at SGH. We were then informed to fast-track fever cases who had been to SGH during certain time periods. We've also been made aware of the neighbourhood that the patient and his family stay in, so that anyone who's febrile and from the same area will be treated with a higher index of suspicion.

SGH is now on "orange alert", ie. a moderate level of precautionary measures. A friend of mine from that hospital isn't too perturbed by it, and seems previous experiences are serving well in coping with the current situation. Contingency plans are being carried out, 2 affected wards have been "locked down", and full protective gear re-instituted. Contact tracing will take a few days, and I'm crossing my fingers that this is an isolated case. A community outbreak would be catastrophic. Not to mention the upcoming post-grad exams for the various specialties -- the one for emergency medicine is in less than 3 weeks! Let's hope the foreign examiners won't back out of coming to Singapore. There're at least 30 candidates sitting for it.

Over where I am, I'm not too sure what the mood's like as yet. I got the news pretty late, and won't be at work till 3 this afternoon. I'd be lying if I said we're not concerned. We expected a resurgence, but not this soon. And having to face this danger again is causing my parents insomnia -- I can usually sleep through storms, ringing alarm clocks and construction work :D. I guess I still have my reservations. Having only a mask between myself and a potential SARS case isn't very reassuring. It's been proven safe, yes, but in life, there are no absolutes, and you often learn this lesson the hard way. Just have to pray harder, I suppose.

Anyway, my thanks to a SARS information website in Germany for linking to me. I'd prefer it if Singapore could just stay out of the limelight forever, but it didn't happen. Sigh.

Non-SARS updates

Trying not to depress myself here. :)

Get your October issue of Elle! Clay is in it, complete with a photo that is melting hearts all over the world. It never fails to amaze me how professional photographers can capture him in a wide variety of moods and pleasantly surprising poses -- boyish, funny, glamourous, sexy (yes, believe it! ). They did a great job here, and from what other Claymates are telling me, the mag is selling out all over Singapore. The article is also very insightful, though the first paragraph almost broke my heart. I hope he'll feel better soon.

MTV screened a 10-minute excerpt of Michael Buble in concert last night. He sang "Fever" and "Moondance" -- not his best pieces, but he improvised and did a lot of cool finger-snapping. His voice sounds fantastic live, and his band is amazing. Can't wait for the actual show next Monday!

Anyone seen the latest issue of Time Asia magazine? It's the one with the word "Dyslexia" on the cover, but the point of interest is in the back. There're photos of the "open-mouth kiss" between Madonna, Britney and Christina. The awards show was censored on cable, so this is as close as you're going to get. For the record, I think it's in really poor taste. Madonna has 2 young children of her own -- what a great role model she makes.

Okay then, time for lunch. Hope my shift later will be quiet. If patients decide to avoid SGH again, there's no telling what could happen for us.