On My Own

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This was my view earlier today at 1:00 in the morning. I couldn't sleep although I was tired. Not just physically but mentally as well. Been living on my own but under my own terms. Now recently forced to stay here in my condominium away from my family because there was a CoViD-19 scare at work. As what I've written before, got back to my previous work but we were asked to work onsite. Assurances were made that all safety and health protocols will be taken. Well, the bare minimum was done and it wasn't comforting. Monday came and went and obviously, coming to the office and going home was harder than expected. Never mind if the bosses had their own cars and left earlier than usual to avoid the rush hour traffic. I left the office on the dot and spent at least an hour waiting for a cab in the taxi bay. Grab was an option but it was a costlier one. If I were to take Grab going to the office and going back home, I would allot half of my monthly salary to just transportation expenses. Not going to happen. So Tuesday went by, the team still made it to work even though we faced the same obstacles going to work and would likely face the same one going home. There was a commotion after lunch as one of the staff said she is not feeling well. She was told to stay in the clinic and wait for the nurse. She was later sent home. She exhibited symptoms of CoViD-19 infection. Take note, there were no managers onsite on Tuesday and it almost took a full hour before the sick employee was given the go signal to go home. Tuesday night a message from one of the call center managers was forwarded to our group chat. It reassured everyone that the sick employee was not infected and that sending her home was a mere precaution. How they come up with this conclusion is beyond me. Furthermore the message said it is business as usual on Wednesday. So Wednesday went by but there was some nervous energy around the office. Not everyone thinks that the sick employee only got a simple flu. By after lunch, we were met via Zoom by the call center manager and the HR manager that we will be resuming back to the work from home set-up as they considered the difficulties the employees faced going to and from the office. Thursday was business as usual and everyone was enjoying the work from home set up. Around 10:00am I got a notification that I was included in a group chat with the name 'Isolate!'. I knew then and there what had happened. The sick employee sent word that her symptoms progressed. Everyone in the gc was panicking and was demanding answers. I told my parents what had happened and immediately packed my bags and things and left for my condo here where I'm staying now. I have another condo nearer my parent's place but I do not have an internet connection there so this was the only option. It was a tense couple of days as we waited for word on our sick colleagues CoVid-19 test results. We did not hear any other update from management. Our colleague got tested Thursday afternoon and the results came back today. Good to know that she is negative. Seems all is well but we got word earlier that another colleague of ours who was with us onsite last week is now experiencing symptoms. I guess, I'm staying on my own much longer.