Health

Mandatory quarantine affects children in China

Beijing, 20 Feb (EFE/EPA).- Many children do not know what coronavirus is but they almost all realize this "bug" everyone is talking about is the reason they have been cooped up in their homes for weeks and can no longer see their friends, cousins and grandparents, or go out to play.There are about 300 million children in China and perhaps they are suffering most from the lockdown, forced or voluntary, that has turned the country's vibrant urban scenes into ghost cities.Since China's education ministry ordered the indefinite Jan. 27 closure of the country's daycare centers and schools, children and their parents have been confined to the walls of their homes.Psychologists warn that this lockdown could have negative consequences on the children's development if parents fail to manage the situation properly.(Camera: JAVIER GARCÍA / ROMAN PILIPEY).FOOTAGE SHOWS MARIÑA VÁZQUEZ, A 3-YEAR-OLD SPANISH GIRL, PLAYING AT THE PLAYGROUND OF HER APARTMENT COMPLEX IN CHINA; MINGMEI ZÚÑIGA LI, A 10-YEAR-OLD PERUVIAN-CHINESE GIRL, PLAYING AT THE PLAYGROUND OF HER APARTMENT COMPLEX IN CHINA; BELÉN Y SIMÓN TOLEDO, DAUGTER AND SON OF A CHILEAN DIPLOMAT, AT THEIR APARTMENT IN CHINA; AND CHINESE SIBLINGS MICHAEL AND ELAINE DOING ACTIVITIES AT THEIR HOME IN CHINA.SOUNDBITES: MARIÑA VÁZQUEZ, MINGMEI ZÚÑIGA LI, AND SIMÓN TOLEDO (IN SPANISH).TRANSLATIONS: 1.) Mariña Vázquez (00:32-00:42) - I am bored of being at home. I want to go to schools with my friends because I can't play with them at home.2.) Mingmei Zúñiga Li (00:55-01:18) - I want to play with my friends or other people, just staying in the house isn't good either because you have to get out for fresh air and can't stay cooped up every day.3.) Simón Toledo (01:40-01:51) - You get very bored here, you finish your homework and then I annoy my sister.