'I’m glad I caught the infection in S'pore': Minister Ng Eng Hen on COVID experience

SINGAPORE — Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Tuesday (8 February) said he has tested positive for COVID-19 – "most likely to be Omicron" – and expressed his relief at having been fully vaccinated and boosted.

In a Facebook post titled "A personal encounter with COVID-19", Ng detailed his five-day experience with the disease, which started with a "raspy throat". He also received news that his grandchild had tested positive after a COVID-19 cluster at the preschool was discovered.

"Sure enough, my (antigen rapid test) ART showed two lines! ART can’t tell the exact variant, but most likely to be Omicron, now the dominant strain. No fever but didn’t sleep well," he added.

Ng said he has had been fully vaccinated and has also received a booster jab, but did not specify which vaccine.

The following evening, Ng said he had a fever of 38.5°C, as well as a sore throat and "congested" nasal passages.

"Heavy head and myalgia set in. Ah, the Omicron barbarians are at the gate and my immune soldiers – T and B cells must be mobilising, updating their enemy recognition software, and releasing cytokines, chemokines, and antibodies," he added.

"The protective effects of the vaccine were kicking in, to confine the infection to just the upper airways, and not spread to other organs."

Ng said that he registered a 98 per cent on his pulse oximeter and took some cough mixture.

His condition improved on the third day, with "generalised symptoms lessened – no more body aches and headache" and a low-grade fever.

"So it seems the first 24-48 hours are the worst, judging from the shared experience of family members. Appetite wasn’t affected at all. I could certainly taste and smell. In fact, had craving for chai tau kueh and porridge, which kind and loving souls delivered without contact," Ng said.

He noted that his throat "was really sore and dry".

"Used a strong torch to have a look at the damage and could see redness, swelling, and some exudates in the throat. Ouch, it hurts to swallow. For me, this was the most troublesome symptom," Ng said.

"Tried all sorts of remedies – lozenges, herbal, honey ginger tea, etc, with little relief. As expected, interrupted sleep."

His throat issues persisted on the fourth day, with an ART test again showing a positive result, Ng said.

By the fifth day, he noted that the positive line on an ART test was "now less intense" and that he felt better with the infection waning.

"It could have turned out differently. If I got infected two years ago with the original strain, unprotected without vaccines, I would have feared for my life literally," Ng said.

"I’m glad I caught the infection in Singapore. I’m thankful and grateful that we have a good system that all of us put into place with our collective efforts and responsibility."

In the meantime, Ng said he will follow the Ministry of Health (MOH)’s Protocol 2, and work from home.

"Met my government parliamentary committee (Defence and Foreign Affairs) colleagues today via video conferencing and have a number of meetings lined up later this week. Video conferencing has really enabled us to work remotely," he added.

Read his post in full:

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