The authorities said the latest restrictions applied to all travellers, including Hong Kong residents, arriving from anywhere in Italy; the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Grand Est regions in France; North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany; Hokkaido in Japan; as well as La Rioja, Madrid and Basque Country in Spain.

“The government has been conducting detailed assessments for formulating port health measures in response to the occurrence of outbreaks in countries or areas outside Hong Kong,” a Centre for Health Protection spokesman said.

“The assessment will take into account factors such as the number, distribution and rate of increase of infected persons, measures put in place for surveillance and control of the outbreak, and the frequency of visits by Hong Kong residents. The government will review and adjust the measures in view of the developments.”

Sources said travellers would be put into government-run quarantine camps, including Chun Yeung Estate in Fo Tan. All those quarantined would have their costs paid for by the government.

A red alert was also issued for the latest list of places, the second level in a three-tier system advising people against non-essential travel.

Speaking before her weekly cabinet meeting, Lam stressed that her administration had been reviewing control measures around the clock.

“For the time being, because of the uncertainty in the global situation, there are no plans yet to loosen any of the measures we have put in place, but this situation has to be reviewed almost on a daily basis,” she said, adding that “more restrictions” could be afoot.

Lam said that countries targeted would be those hard hit by epidemics, and that the city’s government would contact the consulate of at least one country.

She did not name the specific nation, but referred to the soaring number of cases in Italy and India, as well as imported cases from both countries.

Hong Kong urged to get tough on travel controls for arrivals from worse-hit countries

As of Tuesday evening, mainland China had recorded more than 80,000 Covid-19 cases, with the death toll at more than 3,000. France had more than 1,400 cases, while Germany and Spain each had 1,200, and Japan registered about 1,250.

Lam hinted that the government could introduce a range of measures such as banning entry and issuing outbound travel alerts to a particular country or region within hours, but did not elaborate.

“The last thing [we want] is for the consulates to hear it from a press conference without being told about it in advance,” she said.

Italy has the most cases outside mainland China, while the number of infections in the rest of Europe is also on the rise.

But Lam also said on Tuesday it was time for public services and businesses to gradually return to normal.

“Everybody is saying that this epidemic will last long. I’m sure everyone will agree that we can’t put a halt to businesses or livelihoods for too long,” Lam said, adding there was no intention of relaxing controls at crossings along the mainland border “for the time being”.

“Because of the uncertainty in the global situation there are no plans yet to loosen any measures we have put in place.”

Alice Chan Cheung Lok-yee, executive director of the Travel Industry Council, called the latest restrictions a double whammy for the sector, adding that Lam should have consulted them before urging people to avoid travelling.

“There is no need to tell Hongkongers not to travel. There are still places not affected by the outbreak. Travellers still have choices,” she said. “The industry is in a miserable state.”

Jason Wong Chun-tat, the council chairman, said there were already very few tours to the areas affected by the latest travel restrictions.

He added that there were no tours to Hokkaido, while the areas in question in France and Germany were not popular destinations for Hongkongers.

Wong said outbound tours last month dropped by 80 per cent from previous figures, and the numbers this month were also dismal.

“The industry understands that it’s important to fight the epidemic. But we are still frustrated,” he said.

Johnny So, general manager of Sunflower Travel Service, said he was “dissatisfied” with Lam calling on residents not to travel. He criticised authorities for not offering any aid since the health crisis broke.

“If the government finds it dangerous [to travel], it should discuss with the tourism sector on whether all outbound tours should be suspended,” So said.

A spokesman for the French consulate said: “We do not wish to comment on the decisions of the Hong Kong government. We are fully mobilised to provide the French community with all the necessary information.”

The consulates of Italy and Germany could not be reached after office hours. The Japanese consulate asked the Post to contact it again on Wednesday.

Of Tuesday’s cases in Hong Kong, the woman who tested positive again for the virus was an evacuee from the Diamond Princess cruise in Japan. She was infected aboard but was later thought to have recovered before returning. Experts suspected she had carried the virus for a prolonged period.

She was not counted under the city’s tally.

Three new cases revealed earlier on Tuesday involved the daughter of a woman who joined a tour group to India and later came down with an infection, the younger woman’s domestic helper, and a government employee who works at Tai Po Hui Market.

In the evening, officials confirmed two more cases, centred on a couple who went on the same tour to Egypt as the civil servant.

Meanwhile, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said that a 17-year-old Pomeranian, the world’s first dog confirmed to be infected with Covid-19, continued to test “weak positive” from oral and nasal samples collected on Monday.

Results of the dog’s blood test are expected to be available this week.

This came as another dog of a Hong Kong patient confirmed with the virus on Sunday tested negative.

Separately, Cyprus announced on Tuesday that arrivals from Hong Kong would be subjected to compulsory isolation at home or at government-run facilities for an unspecified period.

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Cheung