We asked regular dtac employees how they are living the COVID-19 outbreak. From health conditions vulnerable to the virus to the fear of infecting older parents, they share their anxieties and hopes for the future.

“Knowing I travel to work by MRT every day, my mom worries a lot and has been telling me how to protect myself. She keeps saying, ‘Avoid crowded space, eat only cooked foods and bring alcohol gel with me all the times.’ I reached a point where I was thinking of commuting by car to reduce the risk of getting my mom sick. But then dtac launched a work from home policy. Now, I have a different problem. I really miss seeing and talking with my co-workers. I miss that warmhearted feeling I get from being at dtac.” – Boonwadee Intraprasart, supervisor, Business Support System

 “I might look strong but I was in an accident that left me with only one lung and a half. With COVID-19 affecting the lungs directly, I was super worried. From the very beginning of the outbreak I stopped going out after work even if it was a gathering with close friends. I did not specifically tell them what’s going on, but I reckon that the ones close to me understood. Getting additional COVID-19 insurance has helped call me down, but I still worry about the elders in my family.” – Nariporn Lertwattanaseri, assistant vice president, sustainability

“Once I posted my phone number on a COVID-19 information poster at dtac, I realized what a big deal COVID-19 is for everyone. I got so many calls, and it was quite tough for me at first dealing with all these questions. People asked me how to protect themselves from COVID-19, some asked if they should quarantine themselves or not. My team was designing dtac’s response to the outbreak to keep employees safe. And I’m very proud of everything we did to keep our colleagues safe. This virus was a completely new thing and dtac’s human resources had to educate ourselves from the scratch to design our response. Now I hear people telling us we did a great job taking care of them.” – Jongklak Puifai, manager, health and safety

 “My child’s close friend at school became infected with COVID-19. The news spread like wildfire. It was as if I was being blamed. Keeping an active kid in quarantine is not easy. And even after my family tested negative, even after I self-quarantined for two weeks, I could feel that I made people uneasy. They’d see me and put their face masks back on. But I understand the fear. I would probably do the same. However, panic will not make anything better. Don’t make COVID-19 worse than it is by losing your mind over it. Compassion towards each other is the most important thing in this situation” – anonymous

“COVID-19 breakout is something beyond our imagination. It is like a horror movie comes to life. The difficult part of my job, keeping my colleagues at dtac informed, is to filter out fake news. We have to carefully select our sources to deliver the most accurate information. The workload is really heavy, but I feel supported by my bosses. I spoke to friends whose companies still don’t have a proper plan to deal with the outbreak. dtac was among the first to get special COVID-19 health insurance for its employees. I admit that this is a trying time for all of us. But I believe we can get through this together.” – Sittisak Klinjarernkun, senior manager, people partners