US Warns Against Hong Kong Travel Over COVID-19 Restrictions and Children Separations

A child waves as she sits in a vehicle carrying residents evacuated from a public housing building, following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, outside Hong Mei House, at Cheung Hong Estate in Hong Kong on Feb. 11, 2020. Tyrone Siu/Reuters

The U.S. consulate on March 2 warned citizens not to travel to Hong Kong, citing the risk of parents being separated from children due to the local government’s COVID-19 restrictions.

The updated advice comes amid fears that Hong Kong may be bracing for a citywide lockdown as the local officials are under pressure from Beijing to contain its worst outbreak under the Chinese Communist Party’s zero-COVID policy.