Nearly four months after testing positive for Covid-19 on April 6, Mr Abdul Rahman is still unsure how he caught the coronavirus, or if he had unknowingly infected others.

The 43-year-old assistant manager at Mustafa Air Travel recalled meeting three colleagues at work on April 1, who all tested positive for Covid-19 shortly after. He also met his uncle for three hours on April 3, several hours before the 59-year-old was hospitalised for the virus.

But Mr Rahman, who spent 41 days in isolation, does not blame anyone. Those who were infected with him have all recovered.

"We should not blame each other. Nobody wants to be sick with the virus," said the Singapore permanent resident, who checks in on his colleagues and uncle regularly. "When my colleagues tested positive, they called me, crying, and I just encouraged them. But I didn't know I would also test positive a few days later."

Jobs like his are risky, as he often has to deal with customers in a crowded mall. His office is located in the building next to Mustafa Centre, and the Little India mall is usually crowded on Sundays with foreign workers from the dormitories visiting the mall to shop for groceries and send money home, he said.

"Early on, I was worried that the mall would become a Covid-19 cluster," added Mr Rahman, who is from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and has worked here for 15 years.

Mustafa Centre was identified as a cluster on April 2. Prior to that, safety measures had been implemented at his workplace, including temperature checks three times daily for staff.

He said he was cautious wherever he went. When he met his uncle on April 3, for instance, he kept a safe distance of 2m. A day later, the older man developed a cough and cold, and tested positive for Covid-19.

On April 5, Mr Rahman started feeling sick. He had a mild fever, his throat felt sore and his body ached.

The next morning, a Ministry of Health (MOH) officer rang him to check on the meet-up with his uncle and if he had any symptoms.

"I told them I wasn't feeling well," said Mr Rahman, who was sent by ambulance to the Singapore General Hospital. There, he had an X-ray and swab tests done, and was told to go home and wait. He was confirmed to have Covid-19 several hours later.

"I didn't think too much," recalled Mr Rahman, who was sent by ambulance to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases in the early hours of April 7. "I wasn't worried because I knew I would be well taken care of in Singapore. I was confident that I would recover very soon."

His three housemates, who live with him in a shophouse apartment in Syed Alwi Road, were quarantined. None of them was infected.

Mr Rahman was well enough to be transferred to Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital a day later on April 8, when his symptoms disappeared. However, a week after testing positive, he lost his sense of smell.

Initially, the father of two kept his condition a secret from his 35-year-old wife, who lives in India with their children aged two and five.

"I missed them a lot, but I didn't want my wife to worry. The kids would be affected too," he said.

Mr Rahman eventually told his wife a few weeks later, shortly before he was discharged from hospital. "When I told her, she was quiet for a few minutes," he said. "But I told her not to worry because I was confident that I would be out soon."

On May 17, a nurse informed him over the phone in his ward that he would be discharged. "I was excited and I teared because I know of many who stayed in hospital for more than 50 days," he said.

Mr Rahman is thankful to the healthcare workers for taking care of him. "They would come in every few hours to check on me and talk to me, so I didn't feel lonely," he noted.

After leaving the hospital, he took a cab home and shared his experience with his curious housemates.

But there was no celebration then as Singapore was in the circuit breaker period. "During that time, I couldn't go out. But I felt happy that I could finally be home," said Mr Rahman, who regained his sense of smell towards the end of his hospital stay. He has returned to work at his company only briefly since his discharge as business has been abysmal since March.

Despite this, he is glad that his battle with the coronavirus is over.

But he urged the public to stay vigilant: "We need to take the necessary precautions and we will be safe."