Follow-up regarding the article "Get comfortable with being uncomfortable: Experiences from diagnostic radiographers a year into the COVID-19 pandemic".

Dear Editor,

There is a famous expression, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” I could not agree with this more, particularly in face of a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic. We wrote at the one-year anniversary of WHO's official declaration of COVID-19 pandemic [1], to share our lessons learnt during the run up. Circumstances have worsened since the writing.

After months of reporting few if any community cases, Singapore has newly seen reinfections among patients who have previously recovered from COVID-19, as well as reports of the population contracting COVID-19 despite completing the vaccination regime [2]. Many active clusters have surfaced in the recent weeks with a handful of cases still unlinked. Most alarming was the emergence of COVID-19 cases among healthcare professionals in the hospitals [3], [4], [5]. This resulted in patients contracting the coronavirus and many others serving quarantine; followed by a subsequent lock-down of the hospital. This has served as a reminder that the battle against this invisible enemy is far from over.

While we try our best to care for our patients, small breaches may sometimes occur. However, these often come with implications – many patients will be at risk from severe COVID-19 infections due to weakened immune systems. Given this, further measures and restrictions were introduced in the community and hospital to minimise transmission of the virus [6]. These decisions were made swiftly and decisively to control the pattern of locally unlinked community cases.

Although we longed to return to normalcy for our patients, our current circumstances required us to be agile, ready, and to act promptly to the everchanging COVID-19 situation. Proactive surveillance testing of hospital staff coupled with enhanced infection control measures were instituted. It was clear that “no amount of stringent measures can keep the coronavirus out of the hospital if silent infections are not rooted out.” [7]. Within the Radiography Department, medical imaging professionals had to revert to segregation teams with enhanced infection control measures in place. This was coupled with increased curbs on movement to enforce social distancing.

As medical imaging professionals reel from the announcement, there is no doubt that healthcare is an essential service, and we exist for our patients – “Patients at the Heart of All We Do.” Drawing lessons from our past year [1], we can get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Most importantly, effective interventions can be introduced quickly, and measures are taken to stem the spread of the disease promptly.

“A river cuts through rock, not because of its power but because of its persistence.” Indisputably, with grit, resilience, and fortitude, we will support each other as we overcome COVID-19. To all medical imaging professionals, I am proud to fight alongside each one of you.