Lawrence resisted the urge to rub the lines the mask had dug into his skin. It had been bothering him all shift. He made his way to the break room but first he had to change out of his isolation garb. The routine of taking it on and off was something he was going to have to get used to.
Lawrence entered the break room, Kim was there with two other nurses he hadn't met yet. He pulled the opaque container from the fridge and warmed his food in the microwave. His mum took him being properly fed seriously. She had decided she didn't want him eating cafeteria food. He found it easier to just go along. Lawrence took the seat next to Kim. It felt nice to just sit. His feet ached from being on them all night.
"Hey," He said stretching his legs, "how goes?"
"Yeah, pretty good, I just did my handover," she said with a tired smile.
"Nice, what are you still doing here?"
"You haven't heard?" she said her face surprised, " we're not supposed to go home yet."
"No, I haven't," he said.
"There's going to be a briefing on what procedure will be," she said.
Steamed poured out as he opened his lunch up. Rice with some fried tofu and pork from last night. He took his first bite. The meat was perfectly spiced. His stomach gurgled, it was just catching on to how hungry he was. They were still understaffed so every time he had thought about going on break there was another emergency he was needed for. Lawrence raised the spoon to take another bite several sharp high notes emitted from his pager.
"Patel: Come to my office ASAP," It read, he sighed and started to pack away meal, still barely touched.
"Leave it. I'll put it back in the fridge for you," Kim said.
"Thanks," He said.
"No probs," she said.
He walked quickly to the ward. The thoughts of hunger slowly faded as he got dressed and his mind went to other things. It had been crazy night at the hospital. The sealed ward in the third level now had 23 patients. All showing the same symptoms. Lawrence made his way to the new staff room they had set up, he passed the waiting area where they had put the patient's families. An elderly man made eye contact and stiffly got up from his chair and started to move in Lawrence's direction.
"Hey there," the man called out, "I want to know what's going on with my wife, nobody is telling us anything."
"I am sure someone will come and talk to you soon," Lawrence said moderating his tone, he didn't have time for this.
"Look, we've been here for hours," he said, "I just want to know if my wife is alright."
"I'm about to meet with Dr Patel. I'll bring it up with him and we'll organise someone to come talk to you. We appreciate your patience, please just wait a little longer."
This had been the busiest shift Lawrence had ever experienced. It was no wonder the visitors had been sidelined. Setting up the new ward and contacting everyone who had come in close proximity with an infected person had kept everyone busy. No official word had come down yet so they were just following standard procedure as best they could. They had six nurses who had come into contact and were now working isolation along with Dr. Patel and Lawrence. Most other staff were being kept out until they had a handle on what to do.
"Dr Patel what is it you needed?" Lawrence said entering Dr. Patel's office, there was an elderly woman there, her black dress suit looked like it had just been ironed and she had not one hair out of place in her greying bob cut.
"Ah Lawrence, good." Dr. Patel said his face looking drawn and tired, "This is Mary Wilson, the executive director, she has asked me to accompany her to run the staff through the procedures we are going to take over the next few days. I'm about to have a conference call with the Department of Health, so I want you to go in my place. Can you handle that?"
"Yes, sure thing," Lawrence said not feeling as certain as he sounded.
"Good," Mary said, "are we ready Dr Nguyen?"
"I was just talking with a patient's family member before, they were asking about the wife," Lawrence said.
"We haven't had a chance to brief them," Mary said, "we have time, best we do it now. Could you page the head nurse to accompany us Naveen?"
"Yes, I'll page her now," Dr Patel said.
Lawrence stood in the waiting room feeling the eyes of the patient's families on him. He hadn't done public speaking since high school and he never was very good at it.
"I am Mary Wilson, the executive director, this is Doctor Nguyen and Nurse Kelly. We appreciate your patience and the way you have all conducted yourselves. Dr Nguyen will explain the current situation then we will answer any questions you might have," she said.
Lawrence thought back to the discussion they had on the walk over. Mary had given him a list of things he could and could not stay. Trying to remember it all did nothing good for his nerves.
"We are still not sure what we are dealing with here," Lawrence said, stopping to clear his throat, "we have tests underway. Currently, all of our patient's are in a stable condition, and we are doing all that we can to keep them comfortable. The incubation period could be anywhere up to a month. Which means that you are all possibly carriers."
"This means when you leave, we urge all of you to isolate yourselves in your homes and do not allow guests to visit. You will be given pamphlets to guide you through the isolation process," Mary said, "Are there any questions?"
"What is happening with my wife?" The man Lawrence talked to said, his frustration clear.
"It depends on the severity of each case. Mrs Kelly can help you with that. She will inform you of all the details," Mary said in a calm voice.
"When can I visit my husband?" A young woman in her 20's and heavily pregnant asked.Mary looked to Lawrence, he realised she wanted him to take this one, "we don't know yet, but once more testing is done we'll have a firmer idea of how to handle this," he looked the lady in the eyes as he spoke, he found that helped.
"Is it that virus from the news?" a middle-aged man asked.
"We cannot confirm that at this time but it is likely that is the case." Mary said and waited a brief moment and no more questions came, "If you need anything please direct your questions to Mrs Kelly. Once again thank you for your patience," then she turned and left the room nodding to Mrs Kelly and motioning for Lawrence to follow.
They made their way to the staff room. Tonight would be his last time he went home Lawrence decided. His parents were elderly, and he would never forgive himself if he got them sick. He would go home and pack his belongings then book into a hotel.
Lawrence's pager went off again, and he heard Mary's buzz too, "Patel: meet me at entrance to ward URGENT," It read.
They met Dr Patel in the hallway, "what is it Naveen?" Mary asked.
"The front desk just called, the federal police are here and they're on their way up to the new ward." He said.
"The federal police, what on earth could they want?" she said.
They waited as the police filed out from the lifts. Their dark navy uniforms, helmets and respirators made them look like some kind of special forces unit. Only their eyes were behind a visor. Lawrence had a gnawing feeling that the situation was about to get worse.
"What is the meaning of this?" Mary said, "the hospital has not been informed of this."
"I am Sergeant Michael Lee," he said showing his identification, "as of today this hospital is under the jurisdiction of the AFP. Any decision made going forward regarding Muaro virus cases or suspected cases are to be brought to me before any action is taken. If you go against this request you will be breaking the law."
Lawrence studied the AFP officers. They were wearing respirators which meant they were here about the outbreak. For them to arrive here so quickly the government must know more about this virus than it was letting on.
"On what authority?" Mary said.
"A state of emergency has been declared," his tone was neutral, just a simple statement of facts, "I will also require all staff to sign a non-disclosure agreement in regards to the virus."
