Coronavirus: parents decry ‘confusing’ decision to quarantine preschoolers; Hong Kong records 10 new cases

‘We were never told when we put our children back into school that they will go to a quarantine centre if one of their classmates tested positive,’ says one mother

Separately, a health expert is calling on the government to bolster its inoculation campaign by offering a broader range of vaccines to the public

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A section of Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, reopens on Thursday after it was locked down for compulsory testing. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 12:52pm, 18 Mar 2021Updated: 3:13pm, 19 Mar 2021

The parents of children from an affluent international preschool criticised what they characterised as the inconsiderate decision by authorities to send their children to quarantine camps, as Hong Kong recorded 10 new coronavirus cases on Thursday.

A class of 15 pupils aged between three and four from the Woodland Montessori Academy on Caine Road were ordered into quarantine after they were identified as close contacts of the three-year-old daughter of two US consulate employees who was confirmed as infected on Wednesday.

At least three parents told the Post they were very concerned and confused over the arrangements.

One concerned mother, who wished to remain anonymous, said health authorities were being unreasonable, as she was breastfeeding her 1½-year-old daughter. She was also worried that her husband, who has type 1 diabetes, would not be able to receive adequate medical attention at the quarantine camp.

Six of Thursday’s 10 new cases were locally transmitted, including three linked to the superspreader Ursus Fitness cluster, pushing the total number of cases stemming from the gym to 135.

Three other cases, meanwhile, were untraceable. They involved a 15-year-old pupil at S.K.H. All Saints’ Middle School in Mong Kok, a 35-year-old woman who lives in Kennedy Town and a 36-year-old engineer who lives in Tsuen Wan.