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Chinese New Year is usually a time for Ms Chai Siow Yun to enjoy a good week with her children and take them for a short vacation in Genting Highlands.
But there’s no chance of doing that this year.
The 32-year-old Malaysian who works in Singapore as a hairdresser is stuck here amid COVID-19 travel restrictions. The last time she went back to Johor Bahru was in August last year to give birth. She returned to Singapore in November, leaving her newborn in her mother's care.
Her husband Eric Yong, also a hairdresser in Singapore, has not seen his baby girl. He has not gone home since border restrictions were tightened on Mar 18 last year.
“We are hoping it will open soon so we can see the baby, otherwise she won’t recognise her dad and mum,” Ms Chai said in Mandarin. Before the pandemic, she and Mr Yong would go home every weekend.
Their two older children in Malaysia - aged one-and-a-half and nine - are always asking them over WhatsApp calls whether they can return home soon, and when that will be.
“Very sian," Ms Chai said of this lacklustre festive period, using a Hokkien term which means feeling weary.
"It’s just one bridge but it’s so hard to get home.”
More at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...hinese-new-year-in-singapore-covid19-14087582
But there’s no chance of doing that this year.
The 32-year-old Malaysian who works in Singapore as a hairdresser is stuck here amid COVID-19 travel restrictions. The last time she went back to Johor Bahru was in August last year to give birth. She returned to Singapore in November, leaving her newborn in her mother's care.
Her husband Eric Yong, also a hairdresser in Singapore, has not seen his baby girl. He has not gone home since border restrictions were tightened on Mar 18 last year.
“We are hoping it will open soon so we can see the baby, otherwise she won’t recognise her dad and mum,” Ms Chai said in Mandarin. Before the pandemic, she and Mr Yong would go home every weekend.
Their two older children in Malaysia - aged one-and-a-half and nine - are always asking them over WhatsApp calls whether they can return home soon, and when that will be.
“Very sian," Ms Chai said of this lacklustre festive period, using a Hokkien term which means feeling weary.
"It’s just one bridge but it’s so hard to get home.”
More at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...hinese-new-year-in-singapore-covid19-14087582
