When the “Big Hug” Met the COVID Rulebook
After a dramatic nine‑month stretch apart, Ema‑Lee’s parents stepped into the airport of D’Resort @ Downtown East with the most heartfelt plan: a big, warm hug. But just for the record, Ema wasn’t about to give in.
Why the Big No?
- Fresh Covid‑Free – Ema had just cleared the virus test and was being discharged.
- Safety First – She knows the joy of a hug can easily turn into a risk if doors stay too close.
- Distance Hero – She lets the world know that two metres is not just a number, it’s a shield.
A Quick Conversation
Ema told The New Paper on Monday, “I was still super cautious. My parents wanted to give me a hug, but I said no and told them to stay at least two metres away.”
She added that she felt like the reunion was a little cut‑short, but safety had to win this round.
Takeaway
Even the best families must play by the rules. That hug maybe slightly delayed, but the peace of mind it brought was priceless.
NEW YORK
From TikTok to Taste of Home: A 21‑Year‑Old’s Wild Campus Escape
Meet Miss Lee, a 21‑year‑old NUS Business School student who swapped campus lecture halls for the bright lights of New York City. Her internship with TikTok promised a year of digital marketing magic, but the virus threw a wrench into her plans.
Crash‑landing at Changi
On March 21, Miss Lee touched down in a city that was still pretty much flat‑out awesome. Instead of hitting the first class, she brave‑heartedly hopped onto a swab test at the airport. The nurse promised results in one to three working days, but when the week began to feel… off, she was ready for a quick health check.
- Bang on the plane: sore throat and a mild cold.
- Gold‑level fever a few days later; the only remedy? Panadol.
- Three days later, the test result? Still MIA.
“Love That We’re In It Together”
Despite her willingness to keep cool, a close contact in New York later tested positive. By March 28, Miss Lee was on GP’s list and pointed to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). There she signed the “oops—yeah, I’m positive” contract, after a quick second swab test that rang the yes‑dial in six hours.
She’d got just an hour to haul her essentials: “I grabbed a spare outfit, my laptop, a Kindle, and even some snacks.” The list continued, but nothing left a tangible trail of angst.
Spelling the “S” in “S”
At NCID, she became “patient 815”(the Singapore label for the 815th COVID patient). She spent five days under the microscope, then moved to D’Resort @ Downtown East—an ordinary hospital with a twist: she’d have to pass two consecutive swab tests every day before graduation. “I got two negative, then a positive. Twice I faced the dreaded “I’m not gone yet” moment,” she recalled with an off‑hand shrug.
Where the Brain Went Stuck
“I felt dejected, worried about my immune system,” she stated. “And what about my fam? Those heart‑wrenching wish‑for‑closure moments.” Personally, Miss Lee meant that the five weeks of isolation and repeated testing devastated her mental health.
Healthy Mix of Activities
She pushed back stress with a rather wholesome list: read, play with her friends on Zoom, and keeping the body moving. The stay was a mental gauntlet, a grueling yet strangely calm sprint: the date of reunion with family might be forever unknown, but the daily workout gave her survival spirit.
From Digi‑to‑Human
Miss Lee’s was a wild, roller‑coaster journey: a digital marketing intern was lifted quickly back to the normal tuck—get out of your shoes, break the day, and give your lungs a new ad!
DISAPPOINTED
Miss Lee’s “Bak Kut Teh” Dilemma: Why Social Distancing Ain’t Just a Napkin Layout
After being stuck inside with no outside fun for weeks, Miss Lee finally got a taste of why staying home matters. She was kinda bummed when she read story after story about Singaporeans shrugging off rule‑respect and ending up, well, not very socially distant.
“Everyone Plays a Part” – The Food‑Fancier Angle
She pointed to a guy who actually got a jail sentence for leaving his lockdown bubble to enjoy bak kut teh (pot roast broth). “It’s a dish that’s always on the menu, but people and their loved ones can’t ghost the limitations,” she said.
“I know how annoying it feels when your freedom gets clipped, but we need to think bigger. Think about the grandparents, the kids, and that big plot twist of the virus curve going down.”
Dr Lim Boon Leng: The Reality of Feeling Like a Couch Potato
Private‑practitioner psychiatrist Dr Lim emphasises how close human connection, and that comfort of physical closeness, keeps the mind on the straight and narrow.
- He warns that when the world narrows, the cabin fever kicks in fast—people get restless, irritated, and desperate to jump back into society.
- “We can end up with all sorts of mental hiccups…” he says. “Some folks even experience hallucinations.”
- His prescription: a solid daily routine, a squeeze of outdoor movement, a dash of mental care. That’s the safety net family he calls for during lockdowns.
Prof Chee Yeow Meng: NUS’s “Bring‑Back‑All Students” Move
When he asked about student safety, Prof Chee said the NUS team hadn’t missed a beat. They kept close contact with every student who had headed back to Singapore, shearing a safety net that’s hard to beat.
He sighed, “We’re mighty relieved that Esabel recovered fully. Guess reminding everyone to stay home was the right call.”
Family Drama: Avoiding the Towel‑Hug
Mr Jason Lee, Miss Lee’s father, reflects on the anxiety that creeps aboard when test results bounce between “positive” and “negative.”
“I started worrying if her immune system was weak or if the virus might just pop back up,” he confesses.
When his daughter asked him to hold a hug, she was all of “No, we’ll keep the distance.” He defends the decision: “I shared her concerns, so we kept a safe distance, wore a mask for two days at home, and only share a hug once she was safe.”
And that’s the story, wrapped up in a light tweet‑style recap: the pandemic’s got us re‑thinking what “social” really means—now it’s more like “social in a safe, 2‑meter‑horizontally‑spaced way.”
