KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 ― Malaysia is set to transition to the endemic phase in one week after over two years of battling the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since Malaysia detected its first Covid-19 case on January 25, 2020, the country has witnessed multiple waves of the infectious disease that not only crippled the healthcare system but also the economy and the public at large.

We all may have experienced the most difficult two years of our life, but for the frontline healthcare staff, it was all about sacrifice.

Although the pandemic has left lasting effects on most frontline healthcare workers, for some, the effects are more personal and to some points irreparable.

To pay tribute to healthcare staff for their dedication over the past two years of the pandemic, Malay Mail spoke to several frontliners who went above and beyond the call of duty to serve their community.

Facing the biggest fear

Husband and wife Mohd Fitri Ahmad Shahamir and Fairuz Omar were not expecting to face such challenges in their career until the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country.

The pandemic took them through many twists and turns over the past two years that they never experienced in their over-a-decade medical experience at the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).

Fairuz, a pediatric intensive care unit nurse, said being in the medical line, her biggest fear in life has always been to be sick and feel sick.

"To be sick and to feel sick. That is our biggest fear because we don’t want to be carriers to infect our family.” 

The couple, however, had to face their biggest fear when Mohd Fitri, a nurse at the emergency unit, developed Covid-19 symptoms in October last year during the Delta wave.

He was then confirmed to be a Covid-19-positive after a swab test.

After two days, Fairuz along with her two daughters aged eight and six were confirmed to be positive as well.  

"Praise be to God we didn’t have any serious symptoms and were category two patients.”

Although the family managed to beat Covid-19 with mild symptoms, Fairuz found out shocking news at the end of her quarantine period.

She was eight weeks pregnant.

Shortly after the discovery, she had bleeding and was rushed to check on her baby.

Three days later, she had a miscarriage. 

"I felt guilty.

"Is it because I was working in the [medical] field and brought the virus to my children?

"Was it because I caught Covid-19?” Fairuz asked. 

Although months have passed since the incident happened, it still bothers the couple when they open up about the loss.

Asked if she has any regret for being a frontliner, Fairuz said she accepted all the challenges the job may bring when she became a nurse.

Despite the trauma and emotional challenges, she kept spirits high to perform  her duties and serve the community.

"We as frontline staff are here to serve the community.

"There may be days we feel down but we are still here for all.” 

Speaking about the situation at work, Mohd Fitri said the situation at the emergency unit was very alarming especially during the Delta wave last year.

"There were days when we had no space to receive new patients as the ward upstairs was already full.

"It was very challenging for us at the receiving point and we couldn’t afford to reject any patient.”

However, Mohd Fitri said every time they were in such situations the teamwork of the healthcare staff managed to pull things together.

"There were times we had to stay back beyond our shift or skip meals to look after patients in the crowded emergency unit.” 

Mohd Fitri and Fairuz met each other at UMMC and tied the knot about 10 years ago. 

Although they have been through various challenges, Mohd Fitri said the hardest time of their married life was last year.

Hospital Sungai Buloh physician Dr Then Ru Fah was caught by surprise when the hospital became the main Covid-19 centre in Malaysia. ― Picture by Hari Anggara

Long-lasting regret

It was just at the beginning of the pandemic when physician Dr Then Ru Fah was transferred to Hospital Sungai Buloh.

At that time, he had no clue that he was going to face the most difficult time of his career when the hospital became the main Covid-19 centre back in 2020.

Despite having a decade of experience under his belt, Dr Then said he was caught by surprise when they had to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although things were under control at the beginning when the number of cases was still low, the situation then became more tense following the surge in cases.

"When I first came I was still at the medical department performing my physician duty.

"But within four weeks my colleagues and I were already roped in to help out with the Covid-19 patients.”

Dr Then said all of them had to work almost 12 hours a day with almost no off days during the peak of the pandemic.

"Although we managed to get some days off on random days, we were on call should there be a need to come and manage the ill patients.

"It was exhausting, physically and mentally.”

The father-of-two said he barely could spend time with his family during the peak of the pandemic and often when he got home, the kids were already asleep.

Dr Then said the main regret he still has is that he didn’t get to spend much time with his late father who was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer during the pandemic and passed away recently.

"It is my biggest regret and I won't get to spend time with him anymore.”

Dr Then said he could have spent more time with his dad but because of the pandemic and his duties, he didn’t get to be by his father’s side when he was ill.

"All I could do was to bring him for his clinic appointments and chemotherapy treatments.

"I tried my best.”

 Dr Then said he was thankful to his late father for becoming a medical professional.

"I wouldn’t be here without him, to be honest.

"He did a lot of things for me secretly since I was young until I got married.

"I could have spent more time with him.”

UMMC clinic surgery nurse and mother-of-two Rashida Othman had to stay apart from her children for two months to ensure they are safe from Covid-19. ― Picture by Hari Anggara

Motherly love

The lack of knowledge about Covid-19 transmission at the beginning of the pandemic caused UMMC clinic surgery nurse and mother-of-two Rashida Othman to be constantly concerned for her children due to her high-risk job.

To minimise risk, she made the difficult decision to send her seven-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy to her in-laws' house for two months during the first movement control order in 2020. 

"At that time, with the movement control order, rules were very strict and we couldn’t travel far.

"Hence I didn’t get to visit them.”

Rashida said she felt guilty for keeping her young children away from her but it was done for their safety.

"To my children, Umi apologises because I have not been able to care for you better throughout the Covid-19. 

"I feel I didn’t play the role as a parent to my children.”

Rashida said she hopes one day when they are older, they will understand why she had to do that.

"And I hope they don’t blame me for what has been happening over the last two years.

"Forgive Umi. Umi hopes all of you understand why I had to do this.”

Speaking about the challenges she faced during the pandemic, Rashida said it was physically and emotionally exhausting to deal with a high number of cases and deaths when it peaked last year.

"We could see deaths in every shift.

"I had a day where three patients died within two minutes.”

Rashida said she almost gave up on that day when she saw the situation was going out of control.

However, to stay focused and keep her emotions together, she had a much-needed call with her sister who gave her emotional support. 

"It was sad.

"Our emotions are unsettled because a patient dies while with us.”

Rashida said it’s sad to have patients die without any family members by their side.

She said the past two years were the most difficult period in her 15 years of experience at UMMC due to the pandemic.

Malaysia will begin transitioning into the endemic phase starting April 1 with most restrictions lifted on business activities.

To date, Malaysia has recorded over four million Covid-19 cases and over 34,600 deaths.