Shanghai coronavirus: 13-year-old Chinese boy survives home alone for 66 days with pets after parents trapped in lockdown

The boy’s parents were stuck in Shanghai after the city went into lockdown at the beginning of April

While the boy was able to care for himself and his pets, his parents said the house was in a filthy state when they returned

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A young boy in China survived home alone for more than two months with no one but a cat and a dog with him. Photo: SCMP Artwork

Published: 6:00pm, 9 May 2022Updated: 1:10pm, 31 May 2022

A 13-year-old boy has surprised his parents after caring for himself while home alone for 66 days when they were caught in Shanghai’s coronavirus lockdown.

The boy’s parents travelled to Shanghai on February 28 to seek medical treatment for his father and were only allowed to return to their home in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, eastern China, at the end of April, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.

The teenager had been living at home by himself for the past two months. Besides attending online classes, he cared for his pet cat and dog.

“He was very optimistic. He even reassured me, saying: ‘Why are you crying?’,” says the boy’s mother. Photo: Baidu

After staying in a central quarantine facility for another week, the couple were finally reunited with their son last Friday.

The boy’s mother, surnamed Zhu, said she found her son and the two animals had grown fatter during the couple’s absence.

She said in March, she organised food deliveries for the boy. But for several weeks in April, the service was suspended as residential communities in Kunshan were put under lockdown as a measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Concerned about her son’s well-being, Zhu said she cried while speaking with him over the phone.