What happens from the moment you are served a Quarantine Order in Singapore?
The quarantine ends at noon on Day 14 or when the negative PCR results were out, whichever was later.
For me, the phone call from the Ministry of Health (MOH) preceded a series of "What's next". In the phone call, I navigated between the need to obtain more information and releasing the officer to move on to clearing his other cases. I tilted more towards the latter, since what would happen, would happen.
In the first phone call, I was informed that I had come into contact with an individual who had later on been tested COVID-19 positive, and I would thus have to be quarantined for 14 days from the date of the encounter. The officer added that I would be receiving a SMS and a further phone call to confirm the timing of transport pick-up to the quarantine facility.
Possibly due to the recent surge in community cases, there were no further contact by MOH that day. I received a call the next day, informing me to be ready by a certain timing for the transport the next day and that the driver would be calling 30 minutes before that to share with me where I would be headed to. I then received the SMS informing me of my quarantine period and instructions to download a mobile app, which collected location data and temperature readings.
Google was not very useful in finding out what to pack for quarantine and what would be or not be provided by the quarantine facility. It was even worst when Google results showed previous news reports on complaints on the facility...
The driver called early in the morning (since I was his first passenger for the day) and gave me a comfortable lead time to prepare myself.
To make it easy for me to identify the vehicle, the driver stood outside his limousine in full personal protective equipment (PPE). I picked up my pace as I sheepishly boarded his vehicle, and sat on the exact seat that he assigned me to.
Air conditioning was turned on, but all the windows were drawn down. I was hesitant to start a jovial conversation, but we soon chatted on his work since the start of the pandemic, how he had gotten used to leaving home in PPE for work, how often he would have to change PPEs in a day, how his neighbours would avoid parking their cars beside his and his confidence in the government's handling of the pandemic as a frontliner. From him, I found out that all the quarantine facilities were hotels of at least 4 stars.
Entrance to Quarantine Facility (Hotel)
I awaited my turn to disembark from the vehicle to have my temperature screened and SafeEntry done.
Registration and Checking in to the Quarantine Facility
After registration, the physical quarantine order was served.
I was then escorted by a security officer directly into my room, where I would spend the balance of my 6 days of quarantine period in.
The welcome pack included a thermometer and 2 surgical masks.
The hotel provided a 1.5litre mineral water bottle; kettle; towels; two huge bottles of shampoo and body wash; iron and ironing board, among others.
There were no coffee or tea sachets, so that would be something you might want to pack for quarantine.
My personal stash divided into the 6 days
I was thankful for a comfortable work desk on which I could still carry on my usual work routine. There were some hotels that did not have working desks. That would really be a strain on the back.
Boosting morale from time to time
Chairs were placed outside each room door for placement of meals. When meals were served, hotel staff would press the doorbell to inform us. There were specific timings for thrash collection.
I have heard of people complaining about food served during quarantine, but imho, there was variety and they weren't too bad actually. Residents in the quarantine facility could also choose to order food deliveries which would be placed on the chairs.
My first meal in the quarantine facility - Wonder what's with serving milk for lunch
I was expecting to be swabbed the first day, but the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) swab test was done on Day 2. The security knocked on the door and escorted me to the swab site, located by the pool within the hotel. After the swab, the security officer would escort me back to the room, and open the door with his master keycard.
A swabber by the pool
A more complete view from my room
On the eve of the end of quarantine, a PCR swab test was conducted again. I took mine in the morning and the results were out on the evening itself.
On the last day of quarantine, the hotel staff/security officers were very accommodating to my request to defer my check-out as I was in the middle of a virtual meeting. Lunch was still served, and it was home sweet home thereafter.
Goodbye room! Hope never to see you during the pandemic again!
Fully appreciative of all the efforts by the frontline workers in keeping the COVID battle strong. Although quarantine away from home for days was getting increasingly unbearable, it can't be compared to the hassle of putting on PPEs, constantly getting into close contact with individuals who are potentially COVID positives. Salute to the entire chain of workforce that's behind the entire trace/quarantine effort!
