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An unknown number appeared on the phone of Kylie Davies-Worley, a retail consultancy who has lived in Hong Kong for nearly 20 years, at 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
Her 18-month-old son had been exposed to the coronavirus in a playgroup, the caller said. A bus would arrive in the next 24 hours to take them to a government quarantine camp where they would be detained for the next 14 nights.
“At that point we hit the panic stations,” Davies-Worley said.
His experience was mirrored by hundreds of families in Hong Kong last week, sparking a debate among the expat community about the compromise between civil liberties and control of Covid-19.
For many expats, it was the first time they faced the harsh reality of the battle against coronavirus in Hong Kong, where cases have been much lower than in their home countries.
“We understand it’s necessary, but the three of us locked in this little room is not a good setup for babies,” said Davies-Worley’s husband, Nick, an executive with the Bain consulting group, from a quarantine camp near Hong Kong. Disneyland Resort.
“It is heartbreaking. Our son keeps pounding on the door saying ‘get out, get out,’ ”added Ms. Davies-Worley.
About 860 people were quarantined last week following an outbreak at Ursus Fitness, a gym popular with expats.
It has become the second largest cluster of cases in Hong Kong since the start of the pandemic, rapidly spreading through the city’s expatriate and financial community.
Penny’s Bay Quarantine Center on Hong Kong’s Lantau Island | © Joel Flynn / Reuters
In international playgroups and schools, dozens of children were quarantined, while authorities ordered thousands of mostly expatriate building residents to leave their homes late at night for mass tests. Banks like HSBC and other companies that employ large numbers of expats have closed offices.
Last week, the government reversed a decision to quarantine a class of eight- and nine-year-olds at Kellett, one of Britain’s leading international schools with annual fees of £ 20,000, after pressure from parents.
But the decision sparked protests from some pro-Beijing media in the city that claimed wealthy foreign residents could receive preferential treatment.
Many Hong Kong expats work in financial services, which account for about 20 percent of the city’s gross domestic product, according to government data.
International chambers of commerce and global banks have used that influence to raise concerns about quarantine measures and their potential impact on city businesses.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult for us to convince our best talents to be here if their spouse is scared by getting a call in the evening saying ‘pack your bags,'” said an executive at a large US investment bank. That he did not want to be called. “It is Orwellian.”
The frustration and annoyance expressed by the expat community have not always received a sympathetic audience. More than 42,000 people have been sent to quarantine centers since the start of the pandemic.
“Expats who tested positive for not wanting to follow local rules set by the Hong Kong government can simply return to the countries they came from,” wrote one person on Twitter.
“Basically expats [immigrants] in HK they want special treatment because they are in the bank, let them go and see how your family survives in the UK blockade or in a crazy outbreak in America, ”wrote another.
A room in Penny’s Bay. More than 42,000 people have been sent to quarantine centers since the start of the pandemic © Joel Flynn / Reuters
Hong Kong’s measures to control the pandemic are among the strictest in the world. Anyone who has been in close contact with a positive Covid-19 case must remain in a government facility for two weeks. All those who test positive are taken to the hospital. Anyone entering Hong Kong must be quarantined in a hotel for 21 days.
The measures have avoided the need for any territorial closure or massive business closures during the pandemic. The city of 7.5 million people has had fewer than 11,500 cases and just 203 deaths since January last year.
“I am paying the price to control the virus and so is my family,” said an investment banker who is in hospital and whose wife and two children are in a quarantine center. He also requested anonymity.
“If it took the stress out of worrying about kids, it’s a good system,” he added. “Hong Kong deals with it brutally but effectively.”
Concerns expressed by parents to the Financial Times included not having access to refrigerators, cots or fresh food, and children as young as 11 months were not allowed outside. The US consulate in Hong Kong said last week it had concerns “particularly with regard to the possible separation of children from their parents.”
Under Hong Kong policy, all confirmed Covid-19 patients are hospitalized in isolation wards. This has created a problem for families because a parent or child with a negative result may be separated from their relative.
After days of public pressure, health authorities said this week that parents and children could stay in the same hospital room, but that this was “subject to the agreement of [health authorities] and the availability of isolation capacities ”.
Family and friends of people sent to quarantine camps have created a WhatsApp group. Volunteers have volunteered to bring mini-fridges and Wi-Fi dongles to the camps and walk the dogs left at home.
“We were finally allowed to drop off some fresh fruit,” said a finance professional who did not want to be named, whose son and babysitter were in quarantine after attending a playgroup together. “They have eaten the same food for the last six meals. Rice and carrot and cabbage. Today they gave them some plain pasta and an orange. “
However, many expats generally support the policies. One described the quarantine as: “It’s clean, it’s safe, it’s very boring.”
David Hui, a government adviser on coronavirus containment procedures, told the FT: “You can’t really consider too much about humanity when it comes to fighting the epidemic.”
