Coronavirus outbreak: Hong Kong declares virus emergency as 41 die in China
Story highlights
Under the measures Lam took to limit the infection spreading, all schools will remain closed until February 17; while all official visits to mainland China have also been cancelled.
Hong Kong on Saturday declared Coronvirus outbreak as an "emergency" in the city as the mystery virus killed 41 in China.
"Today I declare the lifting of the response level to emergency," chief executive Carrie Lam told reporters after holding urgent meetings with health officials.
Under the measures Lam took to limit the infection spreading, all schools will remain closed until February 17; while all official visits to mainland China have also been cancelled.
At a press conference, Lam said all flights and trains from Wuhan which has become an epicentre of the disease, would be cancelled until further notice.
There were no restrictions on transport from other Chinese cities, but all mainland arrivals will now need to sign a health declaration form.
A string of public events, including a new year gala and next month's marathon, would also be called off.
Lam also said she had sought the assistance from China's State Council to ensure mask supplies were adequate.
The city's health authorities have confirmed 5 coronavirus cases, all linked to Wuhan, where the virus first appeared, with a further 122 people being treated as suspected of having the disease.
Meanwhile, in China, authorities on Saturday confirmed that 41 people have died due to deadly coronavirus even as more than 1,3000 people have been infected across the world.
In the Hubei province, 180 new cases were reported on Friday taking the total number of cases to 752.
China has also imposed travel restrictions and screening of residents in the affected areas. In Shanghai, all cinema halls have been shut down despite it being peak holiday season in the country.
The virus has spread to other parts of the world as well as Europe reported its first cases of coronavirus with two cases in France who had travelled to China testing positive on Friday.
The United States, two cases were confirmed, in Washington and Chicago respectively.