COVID-19 PANDEMIC - TRANSFORMING THE WAY WE WORK , STUDY , PLAY AND LIVE | LUMEN
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No cues . Negative COVID test , check ; MOM letter , check ; airplane ticket , check ; COVID test 2 in Singapore booked , check . All ready to go . Seat number allocated . Temperature before embarking , normal . Airplane leaves before scheduled time ... No rush on arrival . No relatives waiting anywhere . You are met by people in yellow PPEs taking down names and numbers . No hurry , only 23 people on the airplane . And 10 by 10 shepherded for COVID-19 test 2 . Shepherded to pick up your suitcases and to a minibus to go to the allocated hotel . The rate is fixed but the destination is chosen for you . This is like a lottery : which hotel am I going to get ?
Hurray ! Swisshotel in Raffles City , 61st floor with a balcony and a good sized room . My Golden Cage for the next 2 weeks . No more midnight lessons .
3 meals a day with 4 choices for each meal . You have to book your meals before 12am the day before . A knock on the door and you pick up your packed food in a plastic bag . The first 10 days seem to have gotten into a nice routine , although you find yourself talking a lot on the phone . You read for a while , you sleep for a while , you eat for a while , you watch many films , you get a few random phone calls from MOM , you listen to music again and again and again .
And you wonder who you would prefer to be with you on SHN for 2 weeks in a nice hotel room if anyone ?
And your friends get food delivered to the hotel for you , your summer clothes and a beautiful surprise on a Sunday : two slices of a lovely cake .
Day 12 - COVID test 3 . It is on floor 4 . Do you know how to walk outside anymore ? Should you say hello to people ? Is anyone checking on you ? No , it is well organized .
All floors and walls are covered in plastic . You are directed to a cue and to a chair that gets sterilized after every person . All is well rehearsed . But now no sample is collected from the throat ; only up the nostril then the other one . You are given a tissue paper because you cannot help it ; the tears will be rolling down . The last couple of days started feeling like enough is enough . Get me out of here .
COVID test 3 – negative . Day 14 , you can go home for another 1 SHN week at home . But you have to wear a special watch and plug in the socket to a special transmitter . You are being tracked .
The fridge was well packed with food the Sunday before and a friend delivers your favourite Indian food . No more 3 meals a day , no more room with a view but home sweet home .
The end is near . Day 17 COVID test 4 . Book the taxi ; you cannot miss this appointment . You arrive half an hour early and get processed immediately . Now you feel the anxiety of whether you can plan or promise anything for after tomorrow . What if ...? What if ...? COVID result 4 negative . You cannot remove your special watch until midday .
What should you do first when you leave the house ? What is the first thing you would do after you have been isolated for 21 days ?
You go for a meeting at 1:30pm at SJI . NAAAAAAAA ………
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A non-living bundle of proteins and genetic material where you can fit about 2000 individual viruses in one dot at the end of this sentence turned the world ’ s routines upside down and for me no exception .
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Facing page ( top left ): Din Cao Tue , along with his mother , relatives ( auntie and cousins ), in Ha Long Bay before COVID-19
Facing page ( bottom left ): Viet Ha ( 2nd from right ) with her family
Facing page ( bottom right ): Mr Raymond Karam travelling on a near-empty plane flight ( left ) and enjoying the winter conditions back in England ( right )
This page ( top left ): Mr Raymond Karam greeted by a picturesque countryside with daffodils in full bloom and lambs in Oxfordshire , UK
This page ( centre ): View from the 61st floor of Swissotel Stamford , Raffles City Singapore whilst being quarantined upon his return from England