Michael Chong's fight with Covid-19 went from mild symptoms to ICU

 

MCA's Michael Chong, one of the most prolific public complaints solver, spent almost a month fighting Covid-19.

Sharing his experience in The Star, Chong said he initially only had mild symptoms but eventually ended up in the intensive care unit.

Chong, who tested positive for Covid-19 on Dec 30 last year, was fortunate to have been under medical observation at the Sungai Buloh Hospital.

The MCA public services and complaints department chief was admitted to hospital on Jan 1 and only had mild symptoms in the first week.

“Suddenly, on the eighth day (in hospital), my oxygen levels fell, my lungs couldn’t take it," the 72-year-old was quoted as saying.

Chong, in the interview, said he went through "hell".

“That was when I realised I was really going to have it because Covid-19 had attacked me.

“I overheard doctors saying that I had to go into ICU, my chances would be zero due to my age and diabetic condition. My body system was weak,” he was quoted as saying.

Chong said the ICU was tough, and sometimes when he opened his eyes, he could see patients in body bags being wheeled out.

He was returned to a normal ward on Jan 20 and finally discharged on Jan 28.

However, Chong was admitted to Sunway Medical Centre on Jan 31 to treat the damage to his lungs and was only discharged on Feb 9.

Since December, around 14 percent of Covid-19 patients die even before they are treated at a hospital.

Malaysiakini's tracking found 22 people infected with Covid-19 were brought in dead in December last year. This increased to 41 in January.

In early January, Health Minister Adham Baba announced a change in strategy, where Covid-19 patients with mild or no symptoms are allowed to recover at home.

This was amid a spiralling number of Covid-19 cases, forcing the Health Ministry to pick who should be given priority for a bed at a hospital.

Yesterday, Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said states, where the health infrastructures are under less strain, could consider putting lower risk Covid-19 patients in quarantine centres instead of allowing them to recover at home.

He also stressed that the Covid-19 Assessment Centres routinely perform risk assessments on Covid-19 patients recovering at home.

A total of 16 Covid-19 patients were brought in dead in the first nine days of this month. - Mkini