Coronavirus: with 120 children and teens in quarantine in Hong Kong, some parents question ‘cruel’ policy

Under long-standing official policy, people under the age of 16 are allowed to spend their time at isolation camps with a parent or guardian

But some parents who are quarantining with their children say the facilities present safety hazards and cause stress to babies

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Medical personnel work at the Penny Bay quarantine centre. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 8:00am, 16 Mar 2021Updated: 3:43pm, 16 Mar 2021

Nearly 120 children and teens are currently confined in Hong Kong’s Covid-19 quarantine camps as upset parents question the adequacy of the facilities for young people after a number of them were classified as close contacts of confirmed cases.

While the Department of Health has long allowed parents or caretakers to isolate with children under the age of 16, officials are now being urged to permit underage close contacts to quarantine at home or hotels instead. As of Monday, 118 people under the age of 18 are currently in quarantine facilities, which housed 1,378 people as of Sunday, for a rate of 8.5 per cent.

Some expatriate parents have renewed scrutiny of the policy after their children were deemed close contacts of a confirmed case and ordered into quarantine. Some of the isolation orders were related to a growing cluster at Ursus Fitness gym in Sai Ying Pun popular with expatriates, which has grown to 122 cases, while others were tied to a baby playgroup session held by the Baumhaus institution in Wan Chai last Tuesday. At least one parent was involved in both.

The coronavirus cluster tied to Ursus Fitness has ballooned to 122 cases. Photo: Edmond So

For parents Nick and Kylie Worley, what seemed like an innocuous 45-minute session for their 15-month-old son has unexpectedly turned into a “brutal” quarantine nightmare.

Mrs Worley and her son were among the eight babies and their parents sent into quarantine for two weeks after one of the mothers who visited Ursus Fitness tested positive for the virus. While all the adults wore masks, some babies did not.

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