Hong Kong’s partial border closure amid Wuhan coronavirus crisis too little, too late, experts and health care workers’ union say
- Calls for complete closure of border with mainland continue to ring out, with government pressed to track down number of Wuhan residents in city
- Health care workers’ alliance warns of strike if demands are not met
The Hong Kong government’s new border control measures to prevent the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus are too little, too late, doctors and a health care workers’ union have said.
But Dr Ho Pak-leung, a leading microbiologist at the University of Hong Kong, said more drastic measures should be taken to contain the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 100 people on the mainland.
“All visitors from the mainland should be barred, in an ideal situation,” Ho said, adding that residents who returned from across the border or mainlanders who arrived for work or study should be in self-quarantine for 14 days.
Ho said it was to be expected that the government would not announce the complete closure of the border with the mainland as it would involve administrative measures that took time.
He urged the government to trace the number of Wuhan people in Hong Kong as soon as possible.
