Hong Kong - Hong Kong's health authority will be able to
quarantine patients suspected of contracting an unidentified illness
in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, in line with a law change
announced by Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday.
In a bid to control the spread of the mystery illness, Hong Kong is
already checking the temperatures of travellers returning from China
at airports, railway stations and ports.
People arriving with symptoms such as fever, cough or cold could now
be quarantined as a protective measure.
Lam's new preventive measures mean schools and workplaces must comply
with more intensive cleaning operations and share information with
government departments.
"Currently no serious pneumonia case related to Wuhan has been
detected in Hong Kong, but the cluster of viral pneumonia cases in
Wuhan can be regarded as a 'Novel Infectious Disease of Public Health
Significance,'" food and health secretary Sophia Chan said in a
statement.
The infection was first reported last week in Wuhan. As of Sunday, 59
people had been diagnosed. Seven patients were in critical condition,
according to the Wuhan Health Commission.
Hong Kong also reported 16 suspected cases of the mystery pneumonia
on Sunday, according to public broadcaster RTHK, although none of the
patients had reported visiting Wuhan city.
The outbreak has triggered concerns of a resurgence of SARS - severe
acute respiratory syndrome - which killed more than 800 people
worldwide after it broke out in southern China in 2002.
Health authorities ruled out influenza, bird flu, Middle East
Respiratory Syndrome or SARS.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has begun monitoring the
outbreak.