After universities abruptly suspended classes over fears of growing pandemic, thousands of international students were forced to leave the United States. Whilst many others were left stranded, Joel Loo, a Singaporean exchange student at Georgia Institute of Technology, found himself lucky to safely return home.
A race against time
On Wednesday, March 25, Singapore Health Minister Gan Kim Yong advised the citizens to get ready for an expected surge of COVID-19 cases as over 200,000 Singaporean returned from abroad, shortly after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged local schools to recall students from overseas exchanges and internships.
Earlier on March 23, the Singapore government took an unprecedented step to bar all short-term visitors from entering and transiting through the country, in efforts to reduce imported cases.
“I received an urgent email from my school, NUS (National University of Singapore) asking me to go back on March 20, and it was only a few days before the government closed their border. I was quite freaked out”, Loo said. Like other homebound Singaporean students, Loo made a last-minute booking for his return flight.
Most of his exchange fellows seemed clueless about the coronavirus crisis in the US, as Loo mentioned. “I was just back to school after a two-week trip with my friends. We never heard anything serious about the virus at that time, so I thought it was just some sort of flu in Asia and I shouldn’t be worried in America”, he said.
Loo, second from the left, was travelling with his friends before the Americas became centre of the pandemic. PHOTO: JOEL LOO
Compared to Singapore’s instant reaction, Trump’s government has been criticised for their slow responses to the COVID-19 outbreak. As of May 27, the States surpassed 100,000 coronavirus deaths, according to the compiled database from Johns Hopkins University. “It was definitely a lack of public health communication over there. Everything turned into chaos, all of sudden”, Loo added.
A journey of uncertainties
“My flight back was very empty, around thirty passengers, I guess”, said Loo.
“There was no direct ticket, so I had to take transit. I took four hours for the layover in Los Angeles, with full of mixed feelings. It’s scary to think something might happen anytime, like what if they shut the border and I’m stuck at the middle of nowhere, no accommodation, no get-in or get-out”, he continued.
Loo depicted the US airport chaos as a scenario he barely expected to see before. “A lot of people slept over at the airport. All queues were super long, many were wearing protective suits and goggles”.
He felt safe on the plane as passengers were socially distanced and prepared with masks. However, he was constantly in doubt that someone on his flight might get infected. Loo disembarked at Singapore Changi Airport early in the morning of March 24. “Very quickly after arrival, I was asked to fill in a health declaration form, get on a bus with other three people and escorted to a hotel. No physical contact with outside was allowed throughout that process”, he recalled.
Still, Loo expressed his concern regarding the shortage of frontline workers. “I felt weird that they didn’t take my temperature when I landed. Only NUS later asked me to report my temperature twice a day on an online system. No one from MOH (Ministry of Health) was present to check on my condition during quarantine; I think they really lack manpower”. Since Loo’s personal computer broke down, he was unable to do the daily declaration as his school required.
Singapore Changi Airport was packed with returnees from abroad days before lockdown. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
E-learning as a new normal
Under 14-day quarantine, Loo continued his semester via Zoom, a platform for video and audio conferencing. “I already started e-learning when I was in the US, but it’s still quite unfamiliar, especially as my major is Industrial Design, which requires a lot of activities in studio and in-class presentations”, he said.
As a part of Circuit Breaker, Singapore’s stringent set for partial lockdown, the Ministry of Education announced all school system from primary to tertiary level to shift to home-based learning starting April 8.
With the distinctive rise of e-learning, new requirements such as secure networks, wireless connection, laptops, online tools and platforms become crucial. The existential angst is inevitable as students have to adapt to new ways of studying.
“It’s harder to concentrate on a virtual environment”, said Alina Lau, a penultimate student from NUS School of Business. “When there were classes on campus, I would wake up earlier, get dressed and be prepared. My brain could be warmed up to get ready for the lecture. But now, I just open my laptop as soon as I’m out of bed, of course, I’m still not yet in the mood”.
Many students find online learning unmotivated due to a lack of face-to-face interaction between teachers and students. “Gradually you seem to no longer have a willingness to learn. I didn’t feel my classmates were engaged in the discussions and wondered if they were actually listening to me. No eye contact, no clear gesture or facial expression; some even missed a few class sessions”, said Syahirah Bakar, a senior-year Communications student.
Loo, instead, thinks home-based learning has helped him to be more time-efficient and better disciplined. As virtual learning becomes the new normal, he believes it is essential for students to proactively adjust their methodology. “I can open multiple tabs to look for additional information while listening to my lecturer mentions new concepts. It’s an effective way to make sure I can comprehend the knowledge at the end of the day”, he said.
Students learn to get familiar with online conferencing platforms as COVID-19 gives e-learning a boost. PHOTO: VULCAN POST
Secondary Source:
Speech of Singapore Health Minister Gan Kim Yong: https://www.moh.gov.sg/news-highlights/details/statement-by-mr-gan-kim-yong-minister-for-health-at-parliament-on-the-update-on-whole-of-government-response-to-covid-19
Announcement from Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs: https://www.mfa.gov.sg/Newsroom/Press-Statements-Transcripts-and-Photos/2020/03/170320_Advisory-for-Singaporean-Students-Studying-Overseas
Announcement on travel restrictions: https://www.gov.sg/article/covid-19-travel-restrictions-for-foreign-visitors-entering-singapore
COVID-19 map from Johns Hopkins University: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
An advisory from Singapore Ministry of Education: https://www.gov.sg/article/covid-19-circuit-breaker-what-you-need-to-know-about-home-based-learning
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