SINGAPORE - It took an hour for our taxi to inch from the gate of the test-swab centre to the carpark, a distance I could have walked in less than five minutes.

My son and I were getting our exit swabs at the former Da Qiao Primary School last Tuesday (May 25). If the Covid-19 tests were negative, we would be able to check out of the Mercure Singapore On Stevens hotel where we had been serving our quarantine order.

My 12-year-old son had been in close contact with a boy from his school, St Stephen's School, who had tested positive for Covid-19. I had accompanied him on his quarantine.

The Ministry of Health had arranged for the taxi to take us from our hotel in Stevens Road to the swabbing centre in Ang Mo Kio.

When the taxi driver reached the centre, we were not allowed to alight at the gate and had to wait till our cab, one in a snaking queue, made its glacial way farther into the compound.

The windows of our taxi were wound down for fear of infection, another sign of the new Covid-19 normal in this nation of air-con lovers. The heat of the afternoon was enough to melt clocks as the minutes ticked.

Yet, the frustration of the unexplained wait did not fluster our taxi driver, who was sweating even more than us in his PPE (personal protective equipment).

He was cheerful, extending only perfunctory expressions of resignation at the delay. A healthcare worker walked by, offering us a drink as we waited.

When we finally alighted, we saw that the former school's parade square turned carpark was packed with about 30 taxis waiting to ferry their charges back.

The swabbing itself was quick. Brief, clear instructions from the healthcare workers, a quick smile at quailing kids, and we were done.

The same cabby drove us back to the hotel and we were allowed to leave the next day.

The good-natured professionalism that my son and I encountered then, and throughout our 10-day quarantine, was reassuring at a time when we were anxious. Competency, delivered with a human touch, is something to be thankful for.

On our last day in quarantine, a PPE-clad security guard escorted us from our room to the hotel lobby. As the lift door closed, he said: "See you! Oh, don't see you, I mean." I smiled as I walked out into freedom.

If you have stories or pictures you would like to share about front liners in Singapore's fight against Covid-19, please e-mail stforum@sph.com.sg