Chuando Just Returned From New York & Now Works Out At Home While Serving His Stay-Home Notice

Everyone has to endure the discomfort of getting a nasal swab to test for COVID-19, and that includes ripped fashion photographer Chuando, who recently came back from a work trip in coronavirus-rife New York. The 54-year-old was there for almost two months to film a travelogue with Chinese internet giant Tencent, and landed here just two days before the government implemented a mandatory two-week hotel quarantine for Singaporean travellers returning from the US and UK.

He is now serving his 14-day Stay-Home Notice in his own home. “The procedure was very strict at [Changi Airport]. We had to line up and get tested,” he recounts. As for that dreadful nasal swab, he recalls, “It was a bit uncomfortable but bearable. I’m proud of Singapore. The testing was done in a very orderly manner, and the staff know their roles very well. They were systematic, but at the same time they were all polite and friendly.”

When 8days.sg spoke to Chuando over the phone, he had just gotten a call from the ICA about his COVID-19 test. “My results were negative,” he states matter-of-factly. “But ICA said, ‘This doesn’t mean you can go out of your house. You still have to serve your 14-day notice.’” While waiting for his results, Chuando says he didn’t worry about the outcome. “I was already mentally prepared that I may have gotten infected, since so many people got it when they travelled to the US. And in the event that I really came down with Covid-19, I just have to deal with it.

Since the pandemic began, he has practically become a walking encyclopedia on coronavirus statistics. “I have been following the news every day,” he says. Now that he’s confined to the four walls of his bachelor pad, he has also been devouring Netflix shows like “Our Planet — I love documentaries narrated by David Attenborough — Sherlock is great, and The Great British Bake Off is really entertaining”.

He tells 8days.sg about his first-hand experience in New York, the hardest-hit US state so far with over 52,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases. “Towards the end of my stay there, the restaurants started closing early, so the streets were pretty dead. And people were becoming more aware about the importance of social distancing, so they try to siam each other. You could feel the tension. Before [it got so bad], nobody took any precautions. They went on as per normal, even for the Asians living there. In the US, people think you have the virus if you wear a mask. They didn’t have any experience with SARS, so they don’t know the importance of wearing masks.”

But being a “kiasu Singaporean”, Chuando prepped himself with an ample supply of masks and hand sanitisers. “I arrived on January 31, just after Chinese New Year. And the COVID-19 situation in China was already very severe, so I was prepared. I always carried my hand sanitiser with me. Whenever I touched something outside, I immediately sanitised my hands. Having dry hands is better than catching the virus! I also kept a distance from people, and wore a mask on my flight back. It was hard to breathe with it when I slept, but I kept it on all the way, except when I was eating.”

While staying in a serviced apartment in New York, he also ran out of toilet paper. According to him, “the apartment only came with the first round of essentials. When I tried to get more toilet paper, they were already all gone. But luckily there was a box of soft tissue paper left (guffaws).”

COVID-19 isn’t going to derail Chuando’s famously strict diet though (incidentally, he plays a doctor in an upcoming movie that also stars Tay Ping Hui and Xiang Yun). “My helper stocked up my fridge before I returned to Singapore,” he shares. “I have not seen her since I got back. She can’t come into my house 'cos I can’t have any human contact. I will probably need more groceries next week, so she will buy everything and leave them at my door.”

He cooks his own healthy meals during his SHN. “When I wasn’t filming, I’d stay at home. I’d do some simple cooking — red onions in a frying pan and a salmon fillet on top, or sometimes chicken breast. Then scallions, chopped garlic and a lot of coriander on top of the fish ’cos I love coriander. I add a bit of water to the pan, cover it with a lid and steam the fish. The dish comes out a bit soupy, and it’s very clean.” When he’s at home for the whole day, Chuando says, “I only eat one main meal a day, usually lunch, and a side meal with egg white omelette, toast, tomatoes, chopped onions and avocados.”

He also has his own immunity-boosting concoction for COVID-19: “Every day I cut a big piece of ginger, about 300g, and boil it in a big pot of water for 45 minutes. Then I cut a lime and add it to the water and drink it three times a day. It helps to build up your immune system, ’cos ginger and lime are anti-inflammatory ingredients.”

Surprisingly, Chuando has not hit the gym in two months. “The gym is a risky place for catching the virus,” he explains. But of course, he has his ways of maintaining that Internet-famous bod without any gym equipment.

“I‘ve been doing basic body weight exercises at home, like push-ups on the floor. You can elevate your feet so your body is in an inclined position, and do push-ups to train your upper chest. You can also train your back muscles by holding onto the door knobs on both sides of a door, squat and lock your position with your arms fully extended. Then use your strength to pull yourself up towards the door knobs. And for legs, you can do lunges.”

While most folks would find serving a SHN extremely inconvenient, Chuando reckons being a homebody helps him tide over the confinement: “The quarantine is only two weeks anyway. The situation could be worse. Take your time, watch some Netflix, play some games on your phone. I’m happy being at home, so this is like my usual life.”

PHOTOS: CHUANDO TAN/ @CHUANDO_CHUANDOANDFREY