Hong Kong (AFP)

The Hong Kong authorities on Wednesday assumed the practice of, in some cases, tethering babies and children in isolation to their beds, as criticism mounted against the psychological consequences of the city's drastic measures against the coronavirus.

Although it is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, the former British colony has generally succeeded in bringing the pandemic under control.

It only totals 11,000 cases and 200 deaths linked to the coronavirus in one year.

But this result was obtained at the cost of some of the most severe restrictive measures in the world.

Anyone who tests positive for the coronavirus is immediately hospitalized in isolation, whether or not showing symptoms, and those considered "close contacts" are sent for two weeks to government-operated quarantine camps.

Finally, most people entering the territory must observe a quarantine of three weeks in dedicated hotels, at their expense.

If, also in the context of the ongoing Chinese political repression, these measures have not yet given rise to any major challenges, indignation has started to rise in recent weeks due to the weariness of part of the country. the population facing restrictions which seem to be becoming permanent.

- Concern of consulates -

Anger is mounting on social media over the practice of separating children from their parents in segregation units, with some reporting mothers no longer being allowed to breastfeed, and toddlers tied up to their bed to hold them in place.

The Hong Kong government this week has repeatedly issued statements to justify its policy, including that of tying up children.

"In general, the hospital will only consider the application of physical restraint on pediatric patients for the safety and well-being of patients," the hospital authorities announced in a statement on Wednesday evening. .

"The prior consent of parents or guardians is requested," she added.

She said parents who have tested negative for the coronavirus are generally allowed to accompany their infected children to isolation units if there is room.

But this is far from always being the case.

And there are examples of parents placed in solitary confinement in a different place from their children, and trying to comfort them over the internal phone line of a hospital.

In recent days, the consulates of Switzerland, Great Britain, the United States and France in particular have expressed to the Hong Kong authorities their concern about the psychological consequences of the draconian measures in place.

- "The tyranny of the urgent" -

This is not the first time that Hong Kong's family policy, in the context of the pandemic, has been the subject of debate.

Last year, a group of expecting parents launched and won a campaign to allow the spouse to attend the birth.

While the fight against the coronavirus, the authorities had decided to prohibit the presence of the spouse in the pre-labor room, during childbirth or in the diaper suites of the public hospital.

The World Health Organization (WHO), however, recommends the presence of the companion in its "Checklist for safe childbirth" and maintains that infected women can continue to breastfeed.

While the authorities have caved in on the issue of the presence of the spouse, they continue to dissuade mothers from breastfeeding if they are in solitary confinement.

"This is called the tyranny of the urgent: there is such pressure to act quickly and aggressively in the context of public health events that other parameters are put aside," he told AFP Karen Grépin, health policy expert at the University of Hong Kong (HKU).

"Responding to a pandemic is more of a marathon than a sprint and we must find a way, alongside the very important logic of public health, to take into account the economic, social and gender effects", a- she said.

The authorities notably justified the placement in quarantine camps by the notorious size of the Hong Kong apartments, which risks promoting the spread of the virus.

© 2021 AFP