WATCH Netflix, study, have “room service” delivered, repeat.

Far from a luxurious staycation, this is the self-quarantine routine at home for students who have returned from abroad since the beginning of June.

Though confined to their rooms, home quarantine is far more palatable and easier to adapt to rather than being holed up at a hotel or government facility.

Still, the familiarity means they have to remember not to breach guidelines on self-quarantine issued by the Health Ministry, such as keeping communication with family members to a minimum.

UK-based student Aishah Abdullah said she tries not to leave her room at all for her parents’ sake.

“Since I am living with my parents, who are elderly and considered high risk, I try to avoid leaving my room altogether,” said the 22-year-old law student who lives in Kelantan.

“I live in a double-storey house, so I am mostly in my room upstairs. I’m also fortunate to have my own bathroom.”

Aishah’s mother also places her meals outside her room at the top of the staircase.

“If I want to talk to my family members, I will stand at the staircase with my mask and face shield on while my parents are in the living room downstairs, about 5m to 10m away.

“I have been keeping myself busy by unpacking my bags, reorganising my closet, reading a few books and watching Netflix,” said Aishah, who has been under quarantine for the past 10 days since returning from the UK.

Director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said earlier this month the decision to allow Malaysians returning from abroad to undergo their 14-day quarantine at home was made based on the low percentage of positive cases among returnees.

He said of the more than 50,000 returnees during the movement-control order period, only 0.1% positive cases (554 cases) were detected.

Monitoring those under home quarantine is also made possible with the MySejahtera app, created to trace the Covid-19 outbreak in Malaysia, which returnees can use.

Those under quarantine are also given wristbands for easy identification by the ministry.

Self-quarantine, though, is more comfortable for those with bigger homes and who are fortunate enough to have a room to themselves.

Law student Ryan also stayed in his room during his self-quarantine upon returning from the UK.

“For the most part, I talked with my family through WhatsApp and I stayed in my room virtually throughout the entire period. Meals and other things I needed were left for me outside my door,” said the 22-year-old, who only wanted to be known by his first name.

“I only leave my room to retrieve things when I am certain there is nobody else there.

“I kept my own set of cutlery and items throughout this period, separate from everybody else.”

Ryan said he did not mind the isolation as he had to study for university exams.

“I was actually in the middle of the exam season throughout most of my quarantine and my university switched to coursework for a lot of our assessments.”

Another student who returned from the UK, Hannah, said she was allowed to roam around her house as long as no one else was present.

“Sometimes in the evenings, I would have my meals alone n the garden but I made sure to wear my mask when passing through the house.

“My mum also made sure that no one would be in the same rooms as I head outside.”

Hannah said she was anxious about quarantining at home as her grandparents live under the same roof.

“I was worried because my grandparents are also staying with us, so I made sure to always tell them to stay on the ground floor away from me.

“I’m lucky enough to have my own room and bathroom so, logistically speaking, it wasn’t too difficult. My mum or siblings would leave food on a tray for me at my door for meals.”

Hannah said during her quarantine period, she didn’t feel too lonely as she was busy with online classes and dissertations.

“I mostly kept up with my schoolwork and I was also heavily involved with my student organisation, and conducting online interviews kept me occupied,” said the law student.

Syed Nizam from Damansara, who also went through quarantine at home, said he kept busy with schoolwork and Netflix.

“Fortunately, I managed to keep myself busy with my classes since I had exams going on. I also spent a great amount of time watching Netflix and catching up on television programmes,” said the 22-year-old.

Another student, Marissa, said she found home quarantine difficult as she has been away from her parents for a while.

“I had to ask for their help with food and to buy me things I needed for studying, so sometimes, that made me feel a little troublesome,” said the 22-year-old, who reads law in the UK.

Jia, meanwhile, said she spent most of the quarantine period in her room writing research papers.

“Since I could not go out, I did many things to keep myself busy.

“Writing research papers, watching Netflix. I even redecorated my room,” said the 26-year-old, who just graduated with a degree in psychology and lives in Petaling Jaya. – June 24, 2020.