Staaaaaaaycation

Well that bubble got popped pretty quickly.

This morning I felt good, thinking that in a couple of days I was going to be flying home and seeing you guys.  First there was the small matter of finishing the enforced staycation in the hotel - if it's one of those where you can't open the windows it would be terrible. Ideally there would be a balcony or something.  Ideally it would be one of the villas on Sentosa with a private pool...  With a home gym inside.  And Grab delivering all my favourite hawker meals.

I had done the 14 days before but it's not quite the same because I could go out to the supermarket here.  And the flat is big enough with enough home comforts so it wasn't that much deprivation you know?  Now I have to figure out what to bring to keep myself occupied.  I don't suppose there's going to be Singtel TV to catch my football.  So maybe a good chance to catch up on my reading.

So I had it all worked out in my head that I was going to do 14 days, and then it would be great to be home to see you guys and get to go out and do stuff together.  Grab some great local food, go to the range and hit balls, maybe even play a round of golf or two, and just hang out.  Now I have to deal with being cooped up at home for another week.

Oh I know it's not so bad, at least I will be home but it's just frustrating.  This is literally like someone moved the finishing line.  Like I signed up to run a half-marathon and when I am approaching the finish, I am told I need to run the whole thing again to get my finisher's t-shirt.  The main frustration for me is that there was no real rationale given, other than 'additional precaution" or something to that effect.

Guess we are the guinea pigs.  It's mainly frustrating because there's no real explanation given other than just taking extra precautions.  In a way, the lack of explanation will affect how people choose to interpret the isolation at home which may then affect the effectiveness of the additional 7 days.  Of course, the thinking behind it may be that they hope people will be responsible and not want to endanger their family or friends by breaching the home SHN.

This is where in public policy, you often have to understand what your primary premise is, and whether it is going to play out the way you imagined.  Do people mostly do the right thing?  Even if some don't, how critical is their impact?  If the price of non-compliance is very high or unacceptable, you don't leave it to chance.

I guess this scenario isn't quite like that.  It is probably as it says, just being extra careful, and they think it's a small price to pay.  That's probably true, though it would be nice if they allowed more lead time, seeing as the situation back home isn't as serious, and given that our mandatory SHN in hotels has largely worked.  If it hadn't there would have been more community cases by now that were traced to imported cases that didn't test positive.

And this is where sometimes government policies and announcements need to be accompanied by a human and humane touch, to express some empathy and compassion for those who are affected.  This will enhance compliance, and in a best-case scenario, even support from those affected.

Anyway I am still glad I am coming home - that's the most important thing.