After being in Singapore for about 3 months, a Malaysian mum was finally able to return home with her 9-month-old daughter after restrictions under the Movement Control Order (MCO) eased.
In a vlog posted on 3 July, the mum documented the process of travelling from Singapore back to Malaysia.
Arriving at the Singapore customs. | Photo: Youtube screengrab
The pair arrived at the Singapore customs at 7 am. According to the mum, there were no people nor buses in sight at the Woodlands Checkpoint.
But rather than arranging for a bus to take them to the Johor Bahru customs, the mum decided to cross the causeway on foot with her child instead.
Mum walks across causeway with infant daughter. | Photo: Youtube screengrab
With her baby in tow, the mum walked across the causeway with a carry-on hand luggage as well. In the video, she shared how there were some kind-hearted people who offered to carry her bags and expressed gratitude towards them.
Long Wait to Getting Tested
According to the mum, she and her child arrived at the Johor Bahru customs some 30 minutes later.
After going through an arduous journey, they were welcomed by a snaking queue to register for a mandatory COVID-19 swab test.
Photo: Youtube screengrab
Following the testing protocol, they then moved to queue up for a registration number which will allow them to board a bus that will take them to the testing centre.
The pair then had to wait further for nearly two hours on a hot-weather day before finally being able to hop on the bus for the testing centre at 10:30am
Waiting to get swabbed. | Photo: Youtube screengrab
Both the mum and baby completed the swab test at around 1pm. They were instructed to wait on a minibus before they were brought to a waiting centre.
Photo: Youtube screengrab
Further waiting ensued, where they spent another 3 hours in the facility, which the mum said caused her and her child great fatigue.
Photo: Youtube screengrab
9-month-old Tested Positive
The mum was jolted awake at about 3 pm when she heard her daughter’s name being called. They were then told to wait outside the waiting centre. She was then told that her child tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be able to go home as yet.
She, on the other hand, was tested negative.
An ambulance immediately came to bring her and her baby to Kluang Hospital.
Five days later, the mum shared an update on her child hospitalisation. In the same video, the mum can be seen tearing up while caring for her baby.
The distraught mum says that she misses home. | Photo: Youtube screengrab
Suspected Misdiagnosis
In a post update on Sunday (5 July) in the comments section, the mum shared that she believes her child may have been misdiagnosed, citing that another swab test showed that her baby tested negative.
She noted that her baby was asymptomatic—did not experience symptoms, fever, cough, nor any discomfort—when the test results came back positive.
Baby did not experience any symptoms. | Photo: Youtube screengrab
Despite the struggles faced, the mum said that she and her baby are now fine, and have spent 21 days in isolation.
She also assured that those who assisted with their baggage do not have to worry about being infected.
“For those who helped us with our baggage, do not worry as we believe this was a misdiagnosis. Everyone who came in contact with the baby tested negative twice,” she wrote.
The mum also shared in her update that she chose to walk instead of arranging for a bus because she wanted to hurry home—even if it meant a tough 30-minute journey back.
And she believes that “[our] hearts are the same” when it comes to missing home. She noticed many pregnant mothers who did the same, crossing over the causeway via foot.
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