Suspension of a health worker’s stay with his son due to his exposure to the coronavirus

A court of first instance has provisionally suspended the stays of a minor with his father, who works as a healthcare professional in a unit for patients suspected of coronavirus infection, as it is a well-known fact that these professionals are particularly exposed to the risk of contagion.

The child is a minor, the son of parents who live apart, in a shared custody and guardianship regime established by a judgment. The mother is on maternity leave. The father works as a healthcare professional in a unit that treats patients with suspected coronavirus infection. In addition, the father’s current partner is also a health professional.

The mother requests the court to provisionally suspend the joint custody and guardianship of the child for the duration of the state of emergency decreed as a result of the health crisis caused by COVID-19. She proposes to compensate the other parent for these days once the state of emergency is lifted.

The father refuses this request. He states that he works in a unit that treats only suspected cases and has sufficient protective equipment. Hygiene measures are taken at home and he has tested negative for the disease. She adds that there are also risks in her stays with her mother, who is a radiologist and married to a person who also has joint custody of another minor who does exchange stays.

The court points out that it is a well-known fact that healthcare workers are particularly exposed to the risk of contagion and, even if they have personal protective equipment, this is a risk to which neither the mother on maternity leave nor her family unit is currently exposed. The fact that the defendant proves a negative test result does not prevent him from continuing to be exposed to contagion.

In this situation, the best interests of the child, and specifically, his or her health, are safeguarded in the mother’s home, and therefore the interested party is granted and the provisional suspension of the shared custody of the child is agreed, until the end of the state of alarm or the date on which the mother’s maternity leave ends.

In order to achieve the necessary and desirable parent-child contact, the custodial parent must facilitate, particularly by telematic means (skype, facetime, or whastApp video call) the child’s contact with the non-custodial parent, as long as the child’s routines or rest hours are not disturbed. Once the provisional suspension of the shared custody regime has ended, the parent must make up for the periods not enjoyed with the child.