Ariel he stepped into the room and looked at the eldest.
“We both started crying,” she said.
Ariel’s family found itself caught up in measures to prevent an inflexible but effective pandemic in Hong Kong in late February. Although more than 14 months have passed since the territory identified its first case of coronavirus, Hong Kong has shown few signs of easing the numerous restrictions.
Almost all residents arriving in the city have to spend 21 days in hotel quarantine at their own expense. Restaurants are closed at 22 pm and beaches are closed. Public meetings are limited to four people.
The territory tracking program remains among the strictest in the world. Anyone tested positive for the virus should go to the hospital, while their close contacts should enter government-run quarantine facilities for up to 14 days. The government frequently carries out “ambush-style” blockades, forcing entire blocks of flats or blocks to be subjected to Covid-19 tests.
This approach makes Hong Kong somewhat unique. While many governments are easing restrictions as vaccination rates increase, Hong Kong, on the other hand, seems to be doubling its proven methods as its vaccination momentum increases.
From the point of view of public health, there are few quarrels with the results. This city of more than 7 million people has identified only about 11,300 cases and 200 deaths, according to government figures. And there were zero hard blockages.
But in many cases, the lack of flexibility left parents like Ariel with a heart decision: to go into quarantine and send their children to the hospital alone, or to accompany them to the hospital and risk the infection themselves.
Ariel joined her boys about a day after hospitalization, after spending hours on the phone trying to navigate the bureaucracy of a major health care system and allay the fears of her crying son.
The scene she arrived at was not what she or her husband had expected when her children were hospitalized as asymptomatic cases the day before. Ariel said their children were told they would be “well taken care of by the pediatricians and doctors there”, not tied to their beds.
Safety and diapers, the nurse told Ariel, were standard practice because hospitals do not have the staff to care for every child with Covid-19 and want to limit the risk to staff.
“I understand the protocol,” Ariel said. “But as a parent, this is not acceptable.”
Ariel is a pseudonym that CNN has agreed to use to protect her family’s privacy. He was reluctant to share his story because of the personal nature of family health care decisions and said he did not want to appear to have blamed anyone. She agreed to talk about it so that other parents could learn from her situation – and insisted that they not be separated from young children.
The newest cluster
Hong Kong’s Covid-19 cases have risen from an outbreak linked to a high-end gym in Sai Ying Pun last week.
The cluster hit rich areas of the city, with bankers and teachers among the scores that were sent to quarantine camps in the territory. Many are housed in rooms up to 18 square meters (200 square meters) until they are unloaded, including families with small children.
They are offered meals and allowed delivery under certain conditions, but many say they may not leave the room. The implementation of these policies can lead to massive fines for people and companies – or even prison.
There have been dozens since the gymnastics group appeared. However, it is unclear whether the increase is due to the fact that more expatriates – a segment of the population who may be more likely to complain and talk to foreign media – are forced to endure them.
Carrie Lam, the city’s leader, said Tuesday that the government has “no policy of deliberately separating children from their parents.”
“But public health issues need to be respected, because it’s good for the community at large,” she said.
The Hong Kong Department of Health has not confirmed any of these incidents. In an email to CNN, family members living with Covid-19 positive patients “will be treated as close contacts and must be quarantined in the quarantine center.”
“For Covid-19 cases involving children, the public hospital will decide, in special circumstances, whether or not their parents can stay with the children in the hospital,” he added.
“Hong Kong has comprehensive and robust measures to combat Covid-19, which include quarantine and isolation where necessary, and these measures are stabilizing the recent wave of the epidemic in protecting the well-being of our community as a whole. I would like to emphasize that for cases where children are involved, every decision has been made in the interests of the children and their families, “the statement said.
Many in the Hong Kong expat community have expressed concern about the measures. A 239-member US Chamber of Commerce poll found that most “were worried or somewhat worried that school hours were being sent to government quarantine institutions and that child health policy was unwarranted.”
More than half said that if such actions become routine, it “will take into account their decision to stay in Hong Kong”.
Although the quarantine strategy has been criticized as zealous and inhumane – especially for those trapped in small spaces for weeks without fresh air – many also appreciate how effective the government has been when it comes to keeping the public safe. large.
After a slower-than-expected absorption of vaccines, authorities announced on Monday that anyone over the age of 30 – about 80 percent of the population – could apply for vaccinations.
“It is extremely important that people get vaccinated as soon as possible,” a government spokesman said. “We have decided to expand the scope of the priority groups so that more people can be vaccinated as soon as possible to protect themselves and others.”