Eldest daughter, Shanisse, 21, an NUS Medicine student and opera singer, was on a four-month internship at Harvard medical school in Boston, while her second daughter Shalynn, 20, was in Australia studying dentistry. 

However, their endeavours were cut short after a few weeks. The family decided that it was best that they both return to Singapore, amid the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. They realised that supermarkets in the respective countries they were in were running out of food, and also worried that the girls would not have access to proper healthcare ‘cos after all, “they are only on a student visa and the country won’t prioritise people who are not their citizens,” the veteran actress told 8Days.sg over the phone today (Mar 23).

“The supermarkets are empty, and finding food is difficult. What if they fall sick there?” she said.

But with travel restrictions in place around the world to contain the virus, it was no easy feat for Xiuhuan and her daughters to obtain flight tickets to fly back home.

“Wah, damn stressed. It was so stressful that we couldn't sleep until we confirmed [Shanisse's flight back from Boston], which was at about 3am last Monday (Mar 16). We booked and cancelled the flight so many times, and nobody was picking up the phone on SQ’s hotline," she revealed.

Xiuhuan explained that it was "difficult" to find flights as they did not want to opt for flights with stopovers in Germany and Japan, which have higher numbers of reported cases of Covid-19. In the end, they managed to book a direct flight from San Francisco to Singapore.

“We booked the flight on Monday, and Shanisse immediately left on Tuesday. She arrived in Singapore on Thursday (Mar 19)," Xiuhuan said. "After we made sure she was on the flight, we turned our attention to booking Shalynn’s flight back from Australia."

Over in Australia, Shalynn had initially faced a dilemma: to stay or to go home? She was in the midst of sorting out classes with the school, but at that time, the school could not give Shalynn an immediate update as to whether or not the school would be closed (it is now).  

“Cannot stay there lah. The situation is quite scary. I told Shalynn that it’s better to come home,” Xiuhuan said.

After scrambling to secure an air ticket, Shalynn immediately gathered her stuff and flew out on Thursday morning (March 19), just hours after she booked her flight. She did not even manage to notify her university of her departure, and only sent an e-mail to them after she arrived in Singapore.

Shalynn and Shanisse both arrived in Singapore on Mar 19, just one day before the government imposed a 14-day stay-home notice (SHN) on all travellers entering Singapore. However, Xiuhuan chose to impose a two-week self-quarantine for her daughters, and that they would not have any physical contact until the two weeks are up.

In fact, Xiuhuan was so serious about the self-imposed quarantine that Shalynn and Shanisse had to take a private hire car back home from Changi Airport, and immediately went up to their rooms upon reaching home.

“I told them, 'We will not pick you from the airport. Take a Grab home [Ed: don’t worry, they wore masks throughout the flight and on the ride], and put your luggage outside. Once you reach home, call me. A bottle of medicinal alcohol will be placed outside so please disinfect whatever you’ve touched before entering the house. Immediately go to your rooms and don’t come out anymore,” Xiuhuan said.

"It's their fifth day in isolation today. We’ve not talked [in person] since they came home, not even a hug."

Getting her daughters home was just the start of a tiring week for Xiuhuan, who had to work with her helper to disinfect the entire house immediately after her daughters walked through the door. 

“My helper and I wore gloves and masks and we sanitised their luggage. We also disinfected part of the house that they walked past. We bring food to their rooms and leave it at the door [for them to pick up].  

"At least I can sleep now [that they're home]. I was so worried about them! Shalynn was worried about having to defer her course, but I told her that it’s okay, ‘cos it’s better to be in good health now. Home is the best!” Xiuhuan quipped.

Photos: Shalynn Tsai/Shanisse Tsai/Chen Xiuhuan/Instagram