Shanghai now allowing parents to stay with Covid-positive children following public outrage

In a new statement, The Shanghai Municipal Health Commission has announced that Covid-positive children will be allowed to be accompanied by their parents following public outrage.

On Wednesday 6 April, China’s largest city remains in lockdown and is conducting more mass testing following another jump in new cases. Wu Qianyu of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission has announced that parents may stay with children who have “special needs” though they must sign an agreement stating that they fully comprehend the health risks.

“The parents must wear masks, dine at a different time than their children, avoid sharing items with them and strictly follow all regulations” she added.

Her announcement came after reports from Chinese state media a day earlier, that said an isolation site at the Shanghai New International Expo Center was accepting children to be accompanied by parents.

Photos released on social media over the weekend, depicting infected children in cots with no parents present, led to public outrage with online protests growing larger by the day.

An official from the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, Bettina Schoen-Behanzin, chair of the chamber’s Shanghai chapter, spoke on the problems Shanghai is facing under lockdown: “We see a severe shortage of living necessities, particularly fresh vegetables, and citizens are unable to get their deliveries via their apps. While some residents are receiving food supplies from their district government, a kind of black market has developed charging rocket-high prices for fruits and vegetables.”

“Another really big fear is ending up in one of those mass central quarantine sites.” 

Shanghai’s total cases are around 90,000 following the outbreak that began last month, however no deaths have been attributed to the Omicron BA.2 variant, which although more infectious, is less lethal than the previous strain.

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