By Benson Ang

HE fully understood the need to be quarantined at Aloha Loyang resort, along with his daughter, after his son caught Influenza A(H1N1).

What American Brian Moore could not understand was the poor treatment that he claimed he got at Aloha, before he contacted The New Paper on Monday afternoon.

His biggest beef: That it took about 46 hours for him to get a thermometer for his sick daughter, while he was confined at the resort.

According to Mr Moore, 40, the 6-year-old girl had a fever of 39.8 deg C last Saturday. She had a nasty cough, was shivering, and woke up only to vomit.

Yet, her father said, she was left untreated at the resort - because she had tested negative for the H1N1 flu.

Mr Moore said he made at least 12 phone calls to resort staff and the Ministry of Health (MOH) throughout the weekend.

MOH has explained how the lapses occurred and apologised.

Mr Moore, a US attorney, said: 'I wasn't really worried about my own health as much as my daughter's. My primary concern was for my daughter, and I wanted to focus my requests on that.'

For those 46 hours, Mr Moore could only give her Paracetamol which he managed to get from the hospital before they were discharged on Saturday. He could only gauge her temperature by using his palm. He did this every four hours.

Throughout Saturday night, he said, her forehead was 'very hot' and she was 'sleeping all the time'.

The family - Mr Moore, his wife, daughter and 3-year-old son - had been in Melbourne for a week, and Penang for three days, before arriving in Singapore on Friday night.

They were planning to spend three days in Sentosa. This is his sixth visit to Singapore in the last 10 years.

But when Changi Airport temperature scanners picked up a fever in his son, his wife and children were taken to KK Women and Children's Hospital (KKH), while he was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for H1N1 tests.

Only his son tested positive. His wife, Ms Suzette Chow, 41, stayed with his son in the hospital, while Mr Moore and his daughter were sent to Aloha and checked in around 8pm on Saturday.

Their quarantine orders will expire at 4pm today.

'Logistics nightmare'

According to Mr Moore, their stay in Aloha was a logistics nightmare because a flu kit was not issued to them after they were tested.

A flu kit contains a thermometer, surgical mask, and advisory notes.

He said a hospital representative told him that there would be a nurse stationed at the resort to take care of his daughter.

But when he arrived at the resort, there was no nurse, and his daughter was left untreated.

Mr Moore wrote in a journal he kept on his laptop on Sunday afternoon: 'I spend much of the day getting more and more angry as phone call after phone call to the MOH or Aloha about getting a thermometer results in no action.

'With each call, I must start from scratch - who I am, where I am, what I need, why I need it, no I did not get a flu kit with my detainment order, no I do not need an ambulance to take her to a hospital, just get me a thermometer.'

When he still had not received a thermometer from MOH by Monday afternoon, he was so upset that he sent an e-mail to The New Paper.

He received two thermometers at 6.10pm on Monday.

By then, his daughter's fever had subsided to a comfortable 36.7 deg C.

Mr Moore also claimed that only his daughter was issued with Tamiflu at KKH on Saturday, and not himself.

He said he was issued with the flu medication only on Tuesday afternoon after the Ministry received queries from The New Paper.

Officials also asked him about his heath then.

Mr Moore claimed there were cockroach droppings on the utensils, the dishes, and one of the mattresses at the resort.

Dishwashing detergent was provided, but there was no sponge for washing plates, and no hand towels to dry them on, he said.

He has also found it difficult to stay at the resort because he and his daughter have nothing much to do. They have free-to-air TV, a few DVDs, and broadband access for their laptop. That is all they have to entertain themselves, he said.

There is a shower, a microwave oven, and food is provided.

He wears a face mask everywhere he goes within the bungalow. They are not allowed to leave their individual bungalows as a precaution against the spread of the virus.

Good experiences

But he did have good things to say about some of those he met during his quarantine.

There was the hospital nurse at KKH who made his wife a cup of coffee from her personal stash of coffee bags, and a resort staff member who sent a colouring book to his daughter and a few cartons of fresh milk. He does not know their names.

The American Embassy also sent him a few books.

His in-laws in Singapore brought them groceries, a sponge and some food from McDonald's on Monday night.

They had to take the items in bags and hang them on the front gate of the resort for staff to pass to MrMoore and his daughter.

'There are individuals out there who are doing more than they have to. When somebody makes an effort, Ireally appreciate it,' he said.

An MOH spokesman said: 'We regret the inconvenience caused and would like to apologise for the lapses.

'Mr Moore's case of belated flu kit and Tamiflu issuance (was) due to miscommunications on the ground resulting from a high surge in the number of home quarantine orders to be served.

'Our checks revealed that the surge posed challenges in coordination and communications amongst the agencies, particularly due to the need to complete issuing the required items to persons placed under quarantine quickly.

'We have since activated more resources to help address the situation and seek Mr Moore's understanding on this.

'Since his feedback we are glad to inform that the flu kit and Tamiflu were given to Mr Moore and his daughter.'

For Mr Moore, his release from quarantine today will be bitter-sweet. He has spent what he describes as a 'frustrating' week at Aloha.

He spent Father's Day nursing his daughter and worrying about his son, and his ninth wedding anniversary which was three days later, separated from his wife.

'The first half was a nightmare. The second half was much better,' he said. 'But someone should look into the difficulties my daughter and I faced.'

This article was first published in The New Paper.