No Deliberate Policy To Split Covid-hit Families: CE

Chief Executive Carrie Lam has downplayed concerns that babies and young children are being separated from their families and put into quarantine if their parents are taken into hospital with coronavirus, saying this is not a deliberate policy and exceptions to the rules are made.

Lam said on Tuesday that in such circumstances, the government allows children to stay in the hospital with their parents.

“We are a compassionate government, so we have been applying this exceptional treatment, where the close contacts are young children of the parents and the parents are confirmed, instead of sending the very young kids on their own to a quarantine centre, or asking other relatives and friends to go into the quarantine centre with the kids, we will exceptionally accept the admission of the children into the hospital as well,” Lam said.

“And of course within the hospital there would be appropriate arrangement for the parents and the kids,” she added.

Lam made the remarks after thousands signed a petition urging the government to let children be isolated at home instead of at a quarantine centre if any of their close contacts are infected with Covid.

The CE noted that two workers at the US Consulate tested positive for the virus this week and said their children are in hospital with them.

“In this case, we are applying that exceptional treatment. Not exceptional because they are US Consulate staff, but exceptional because of the family circumstances,” Lam said.

She added that she was notified that one of the children has also now tested positive.

“We have no policy to deliberately separate children from their parents, but public health concerns have to be respected because it is good for the community at large,” she added.