Anxiety and tears in Hong Kong, as young children are taken from parents for coronavirus tests
- Parents complain about lack of information, inconsistent practices at hospitals
- Authorities say hospital restrictions are necessary, help protect family members
“Three guys in hazmat suits turned up, and then my son was gone. It was heartbreaking,” said the 41-year-old British-Canadian who has lived in Hong Kong for five years.
She could not accompany her baby to hospital on April 7 because she had to care for her 19-month-old daughter. Her 39-year-old Filipino domestic worker had tested positive for the coronavirus and was already in hospital, and her husband was in Britain.
Elizabeth’s nightmare of being separated from her son because of the pandemic is one shared by other families in Hong Kong. Parents who spoke to the Post described feeling frightened and uncertain of what lay ahead, when families had to split up to undergo tests or be quarantined.
Although they accepted that the Covid-19 crisis was an unusual situation, they complained they were not given enough information in advance, and there did not appear to be a consistent policy applied across hospitals.
The pandemic has made more than 1.6 million people ill and claimed more than 103,600 lives worldwide. In Hong Kong, there were 1,000 cases with four deaths as of Saturday.