Coronavirus: Singapore
Parents hunker down with kids on quarantine in hotel rooms
Their children are close contacts of Covid-19 cases in recent spate of infections
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Housewife Angeline Chia, 48, with her son Elliot Lam who has been serving his quarantine order at Hotel Mi since Sunday. They keep fit by exercising in the room. (Right) One of the meals served.
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ANGELINE CHIA
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With more children exposed to Covid-19 this year than last year, some parents have had to accompany their young ones serving their quarantine order in hotels here.
Among them is housewife Angeline Chia, 48, who has been with her nine-year-old son Elliot Lam at Hotel Mi in Bencoolen Street since Sunday.
The St Stephen's School pupil was a close contact of a Covid-19 positive case at the school, where two pupils tested positive last Thursday.
The school switched to home-based learning the next day, the same day it issued Elliot a leave of absence, when he had to stay at home and monitor his health.
Later that day, Madam Chia received a call from the Ministry of Health (MOH), saying her son had been served with a quarantine order, which means a stay in an assigned place.
"He was excited to come to the hotel. He thinks it is a staycation," said Madam Chia.
They will be allowed to leave on May 25 if they test negative for Covid-19 the day before, she added.
Elliot's twin brother Aryton, who is in a different class in the school, is being cared for by their father at home.
As at Tuesday, 24 Covid-19 patients have been linked to a cluster that was first detected when a 50-year-old Learning Point tutor at Parkway Centre tested positive for the virus last Wednesday.
Of these, 14 are primary school pupils. MOH has not disclosed the number of children served with a quarantine order.
The Education Ministry (MOE) said it works closely with MOH and the schools to identify close contacts of the confirmed cases.
Once the close contacts have been identified, the schools will issue a leave of absence to them first.
"Concurrently, MOH will assess whether these close contacts should be issued a quarantine order," said an MOE spokesman.
Madam Chia was told a parent or guardian had to accompany the child and that they do not have to bear the cost.
Mr Chan Fanjie, a 43-year-old public servant, moved into the Grand Mercure Singapore Roxy last Thursday after his daughter Claudia, a Primary 2 pupil, was determined to be a close contact.
The eight-year-old had attended the Learning Point centre at Century Square, where the same infected tutor conducted lessons.
Mr Chan took his laptop with him to work from the hotel room until tomorrow, pending the Covid-19 test result.
The parents say they are aware they risk falling ill by sharing a room with their child.
On Tuesday, MOH reported that two women - caregivers to two eight-year-old children in quarantine in separate cases - tested positive for Covid-19.
Mr Chan, who has not been vaccinated, said he, like the other parents interviewed, has not been wearing a mask in the hotel room.
None has been swabbed as well.
Mr Chan said Claudia was tested last Friday and found to be negative for the virus.
His wife and other daughter, who is four, were separately issued leave of absence by their workplace and pre-school respectively, while other parents said their household members were not issued a leave of absence.
Madam Hanis, who did not want her full name disclosed, has been staying in a hotel with her nine-year-old son, a Primary 3 pupil at St Stephen's School, after he was served with a quarantine order.
The 46-year-old, who works in research and has been fully vaccinated, said: "We know that everybody reacts differently to the vaccine and I don't know how much I am protected against (the virus).
"My biggest worry is for my son as we don't know how they (pupils) are impacted."
