Hong Kong snap lockdown: Families separated in towers populated by foreigners

A snap lockdown in Hong Kong affecting towers populated by foreigners is seeing families separated and children sent to quarantine centres.

Hong Kong has launched a snap lockdown amid fears that a breakout at a local gym popular with foreigners could bring in a ‘fifth wave’ of COVID.

Residents have been ordered to stay indoors until they get the results of their mandatory tests.

If their test returns positive, they are sent to government centres to quarantine for 14 days including children – sparking concerns about separation of families.

A number of Australians have been caught up in the crisis, with several either taken to hospital or quarantined.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told News Corp Australia it was providing consular assistance to a number of Australians in Hong Kong.

“The Consulate-General is in regular close contact with Hong Kong government health officials on this matter,” a spokesperson said.

Police have sealed off several upscale neighbourhoods and ordered thousands to line up for large scale testing.

Medical workers in hazmat suits. Picture: CNN

Residents said the lockdown was “all of a sudden”. Picture: CNN

“We didn’t know what to expect; Suddenly the building was taped up and there was a lot of cops and there was a medical crew that showed up in hazmat suits. It was all of a sudden,” resident Jyoti Fujita told CNN.

Hong Kong started snap lockdowns in January targeting clusters in densely-populated low socio-economic areas. But the latest action is the first to hit the high-rent areas populated by foreigners.

More than 100 cases have been linked to a gym and the cluster has closed schools, offices and forced hundreds into government quarantine centres.

Residents are being ordered into government quarantine centres if they return a positive test. Picture: CNN

Police assisted medical workers. Picture: CNN

Police patrol a residential area. Picture: CNN

Single mother Jen Burman, a client of the affected gym, has been ordered into lockdown for 14 days.

“The most stressful thing is the uncertainty and the not knowing. My main concern was my son, not knowing if he would quarantine with me, what the results would be,” she told CNN.

Daniel Burton, managing director of the The Harbour School, said 35 of his students have been taken into quarantine at a government centre for 14 days after one of the teachers linked to the gym cluster tested COVID positive.

He said the children are aged between eight and 10.

“They do have a parent that’s allowed to go with them but in some cases that’s not enough because about 20 per cent of our kids are special needs,” Mr Burton said.

In a statement to CNN, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the government does not have a policy to deliberately separate children from their parents.