Coronavirus: with 468 quarantined on Day 1 of border scheme, officials ask for understanding as facility needs grow
- ‘Three of our camps are getting full, and we might need more camps if the epidemic continues,’ the food and health secretary told a radio programme
- Random checks on the self-quarantined by police had so far turned up no rule-breaking, she said
Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said the number was up from the 161 mandatory cases Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor cited at a Saturday press conference.
Of the total quarantined as a coronavirus outbreak control measure, 814 were Hong Kong residents returning from mainland China, while the other 104 were mainland tourists, of which 12 were placed in government quarantine facilities.
But the growing numbers were likely to mean more quarantine sites would need to be activated, Chan told a radio programme.
“We hope the public can be more understanding and cooperative, as three of our camps are getting full, and we might need more camps if the epidemic continues,” she said, citing cases of vandalism at some planned quarantine facilities.