I refer to the letter “Allow private doctors to test for Covid-19” (November 17). Dr Daniel Ng believes patients tested by their usual doctors would “feel less threatened in a private clinic”. However, what would definitely make patients feel less threatened would be the assurance that any children testing Covid-19 positive would not be taken away to hospital, or discharged, on their own while their parents are sent to quarantine.

Opening family units in hospitals where one parent can stay with the child would allay many parents’ fears (although parents should be prepared to sign a disclaimer that they understand the infection risks involved). This child separation measure has been an ongoing nightmare for families for eight months or more, but no entirely satisfactory answer to parents’ fears has been provided yet (“Those who ignore Hong Kong’s mandatory Covid-19 test orders face jail, fines”, November 14).