The Medical Frontliners' Ballad

On 22 January 2020, a bus travelled from Singapore to Malaysia with 17 tourists from China. On the bus was 40-year-old Tourist X.

On 23 January 2020, Singapore Health Authorities contacts Malaysia. A 66-year old Chinese national had tested positive for coronavirus in Singapore. Eight close contacts of this case had entered into Johor. This led to the detection of 3 cases on 24 January 2020 by the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL).

On 24 January 2020, Tourist X was symptomatic and sought care at a private hospital and was referred to the Ministry of Health. The Institute of Medical Research (IMR) conducts COVID-19 test on samples from Tourist X and confirms its first positive case. There are now 4 cases.

What follows next is the biggest public health crisis Malaysia has ever seen.

The Medical Frontliners' Ballad attempts to dive deep into the daily realities faced by the Malaysian public medical community in dealing with the rapid spread and containment of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.

A collection of 15 stories from actual frontliners will offer insights into their personal and professional lives, highlighting the hard choices and sacrifices expected of them in answering their call of duty amidst the Hippocratic oath that they have sworn to always uphold as health care practitioners.

This book will share their stories from their unique perspective, chronicling their fears, doubts, and above all, hope.