Parents separated from children as Hong Kong clings to ‘zero Covid’ policy

Strict rules bar contact between infected patients and families, even if thechild is infected

Parents in Hong Kong are being separated from their babies who test positive for the coronavirus infection, fuelling anger against China’s “zero Covid” policy.

Strict rules in the metropolis bar contact between Covid-19 infected patients and their families, even if a child is infected, in a bid to bring down the number of daily cases.

Although Hong Kong is not under complete lockdown, authorities have tightened measures and rolled out mass testing to combat its worst wave of Covid-19 infections driven by the highly-contagious Omicron variant.

Ava, an 11-month-old baby who tested positive for the virus, was isolated and admitted to the hospital on Sunday night with a fever and laboured breathing. Despite being in the same city, her parents Laura and Nick weren't allowed to visit her at Hong Kong's Queen Mary Hospital.

“We’re just helpless. We are really helpless. This is not in the best interest of her that she’s without us. She needs us and we need her,” the mother told CNN.

The couple could manage to share a quick video call with Ava on Tuesday and requested the nurse in attendance to give “her some comfort”. She added that her daughter was aware of the surroundings and her separation anxiety was at an all-time high.

Several parents have taken to private groups on social media platforms such as Facebook to criticise hospitals for prohibiting parents from staying with their children.

Siddharth Sridhar, a microbiologist at the University of Hong Kong, said: “If a child requires hospitalisation due to Covid, it should be made possible for one parent to stay in the same room unless the child’s condition is very serious.”

“In times like these, staying rational and compassionate is more important than ever,” he wrote on Twitter.

Hong Kong reported a record 8,674 new Covid cases on Wednesday, a day after leader Carrie Lam announced compulsory testing for all 7.4 million people living in the city.

Residents would have to undergo three rounds of compulsory Covid-19 testing in March, with daily testing capacity expected to reach one million.

In between those tests, residents will have to take daily rapid antigen tests, Ms Lam announced on Tuesday.

“The coming one to three months are crucial in fighting the pandemic,” she said. The leader added that authorities were not considering a city-wide lockdown, like those in mainland China. However, stringent coronavirus rules would be in place until mid-April, she said.