Ariel stepped into the room and looked at her eldest.
“We both started to cry,” she said.
Ariel’s family found themselves in the crosshairs of Hong Kong’s unyielding but effective pandemic prevention measures at the end of February. Although it has been more than 14 months since the territory discovered its first coronavirus case, Hong Kong showed little sign of relaxation of numerous restrictions.
Almost all residents arriving in the city are required to spend 21 days in hotel quarantine at their own expense. Restaurants close at 10pm and beaches are closed. Public gatherings are limited to four people.
The area’s track & trace program remains one of the strictest in the world. Anyone who tests positive for the virus must go to the hospital, while their close contacts must enter government-run quarantine facilities for up to 14 days. The government regularly conducts “ambush-like” lockdowns, forcing entire apartment buildings or blocks to undergo Covid-19 testing.
That approach makes Hong Kong somewhat unique. While many governments are relaxing restrictions as vaccination coverage rises, Hong Kong instead appears to be doubling down on its tried-and-true practices as it ramps up its own vaccination drive.
There is little to argue with the results from a public health point of view. This city of more than 7 million inhabitants has only reported about 11,300 cases and 200 deaths, according to government figures. And there have been no hard lockdowns.
But due to the lack of flexibility, parents like Ariel have made heartbreaking decisions in several cases: go into quarantine and send their children to the hospital alone, or accompany them to the hospital and run the risk of infection themselves.
Ariel joined her boys about a day after their admission after spending hours on the phone breaking the bureaucracy of a major health care system and allay the fears of her crying son.
The scene where she arrived was not what she or her husband expected when her children were hospitalized as asymptomatic cases the day before. Ariel said they were told their children would be “well cared for by the pediatric nurses and doctors there,” not tied to their beds.
The restraints and diapers, the nurse told Ariel, were standard practice because hospitals don’t have the labor pool to care for every child with Covid-19 and want to limit the risk to staff.
“I understand protocol,” Ariel said, “but as a parent this is not acceptable.”
Ariel is a pseudonym that CNN has agreed to protect the privacy of her family. She was hesitant to share her story due to the personal nature of family health care decisions, saying she didn’t want to sound like she was blaming anyone. She agreed to speak up about the matter so that other parents could learn from her situation – and insisted that they not be separated from young children.
The latest cluster
Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong are on the rise since an outbreak connected to a high-end gym in the Sai Ying Pun district last week.
The cluster has affected affluent parts of the city, with bankers and teachers among the scores sent to quarantine camps across the territory. Many are housed in rooms as small as 18 square meters (200 square feet) until fired, including families with small children.
They receive meals and are allowed to deliver under certain conditions, but some say they are not allowed to leave the room. Violating this policy can lead to huge fines for people and companies – or even jail time.
There are dozens more since the rise of the gym cluster. However, it’s unclear if the resurgence is because more expats – some of the population more likely to complain and speak to foreign media – are being forced to put up with it.
Carrie Lam, the town’s leader, said on Tuesday that the government “has no policy of deliberately separating children from their parents.”
“But public health concerns must be respected because it is good for the community at large,” she said.
The Hong Kong Ministry of Health has not confirmed any of these incidents. In an email to CNN, it said family members living with Covid-19 positive patients “will be treated as close contacts and quarantined at the quarantine center.”
“For Covid-19 cases involving children, the public hospital will decide under special circumstances whether or not their parents can stay with the children in the hospital,” it added.
Hong Kong has extensive and robust measures to combat Covid-19, including quarantine and isolation where necessary, and these measures are intended to stabilize the recent epidemic wave and protect the well-being of our community as a whole. children are involved, every decision is made in the best interest of the children and their families, ”the statement read.
Many in Hong Kong’s expat community have expressed concern about the measures. A US Chamber of Commerce survey of 239 members found that most were “concerned or somewhat concerned that entire school classes were being sent to government quarantine facilities, and that the policy is not justified when it comes to health. children”.
More than half said that if such actions became routine, it would “play a role in their decision to stay in Hong Kong.”
While the quarantine strategy has been criticized as overzealous and inhumane – especially for those trapped in small spaces without fresh air for weeks on end – many also realize how effective the government has been when it comes to protecting the general public.
Following a slower-than-expected uptake in the vaccine rollout, authorities announced on Monday that anyone over the age of 30 – some 80% of the population – could apply for vaccinations.
“It is of the utmost importance that people get vaccinated as early as possible,” said a government spokesman. “We have decided to expand the scope of the priority groups so that more people can get vaccinated as soon as possible to protect themselves and others.”