By Shyam Karia, BDJ Reader Panel, Wales

It was in early January that I read my first BBC news article on COVID-19. It referred to this disease as a 'mysterious viral pneumonia' and back then very few of us appreciated its severity. We joked about how it shared the same name as a beer; never did we anticipate the degree of change the world would see.

February came along and I was travelling through Myanmar with four colleagues. We had planned to set up a voluntary medical and dental clinic in a town near Mandalay. The medical team were kept busy throughout; however, as the week progressed our dental clinic started seeing fewer and fewer patients. This is unusual for health camps: locals will routinely travel a few hours from neighbouring villages for treatment. But this time, as Myanmar shares borders with China and Thailand (both reporting confirmed COVID-19 cases), locals didn't fancy the risk of travelling to a big city. This was the first time I took COVID-19 seriously.

Fast forward to April, the UK is under lockdown and people are even drawing parallels between this pandemic and World War II. I am one of four Oral and Maxillofacial DCTs working in a small DGH on the outskirts of London. Since March - with a handful of CWT cases being the exception - all our face-to-face consultations and procedures have been cancelled. Many staff in our hospital have already been redeployed, including our dental nurses, but currently DCTs and other dentally qualified staff are awaiting further instruction. We continue with on-call and clinical commitments (mostly limited to telephone clinics), although there have been many suggestions about possible redeployment locations for us. These include: phlebotomy, assisting OMFS consultants with tracheostomies, and delivering hygiene and comfort on COVID-19 wards.

Hospital life does have its perks. We can leave the house to go to work and we have the opportunity to socialise with colleagues. The routine feels important and there is a definite sense of satisfaction and gratitude at the end of the day. But the hospital can also leave you feeling drained. At work everyone is talking about COVID-19 and when you actually see patients with this disease, reality can be quite daunting. Amazingly though, there is a real team spirit in the hospital which helps keep morale high. Our local community have also donated over £25,000 worth of gifts. Everything and anything has been considered ranging from chocolates to phone chargers, porridge to protein bars and even a supply of clogs!

Back home, my work has meant I have moved away from living with grandparents. I try to make the most of the sun, spending my days off in the garden or cycling through the countryside. Undoubtedly, the COVID-19 pandemic has made life difficult for everyone, but for me there is solace in recognising that the world has come together and everyone is fighting as one.