‘Up to 2,000 children under age 10 separated from parents in Hong Kong hospitals over past 6 weeks after catching Covid-19’
- Charity executive Dr Lucy Lord estimates 1,000 to 2,000 children with Covid-19 have been separated from parents at hospitals over the past five to six weeks
- Hospital Authority says crowded medical facilities have made it difficult to let parents stay with their children
A Hong Kong charity has estimated that up to 2,000 children under the age of 10 may have been separated from their parents over the past six weeks after being admitted to hospital with Covid-19, with its executive chair calling the policy “child abuse”.
The Hospital Authority could not confirm the figure with the Post on Monday, while lawmakers, medical personnel, legal experts and a mental health organisation urged the government not to separate infected children from their parents during isolation and treatment of the coronavirus.
They also called on authorities to provide clear guidance to affected families to help alleviate their stress and grief.
Dr Lucy Lord, executive chair of mental health charity Mind Hong Kong said that separating a child from their parents for even a brief period could lead to post-traumatic stress and have a long-term impact on a youngster’s mental health.
“We have hardly seen any parent allowed to be admitted into hospital with their infected children,” she said. “This is unacceptable. This is child abuse on any level.”
Lord, who also works as an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Central Health Medical Practice Hong Kong, estimated there were about 1,000 to 2,000 infected children who had been separated from their parents over the past five to six weeks, with more than 90 per cent involving local families.