Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has announced plans to suspend 10 of the city’s 13 border crossings with mainland China in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus.
It came as hundreds of Hong Kong’s medical workers went on strike on Monday calling on the government to close the border entirely amid concerns about the city’s already-stretched healthcare sector.
But Lam said that shutting the border completely would not only be “inappropriate and impractical”, but “discriminatory”.
To date, Hong Kong has seen 15 confirmed cases of coronavirus, which has killed more than 360 people in China and infected more than 17,000.
Now, medical workers are calling for the border to be closed and for face masks to be handed out to the public.
They also want to ensure that there are enough isolation wards available for patients.
About 100 people rallied in the heart of Hong Kong‘s financial district in support of the health workers’ union, with some holding banners saying: “Close borders, contain epidemics.”
Reuters reported that panic-stricken residents have emptied shelves in Hong Kong’s major supermarkets as fears over the coronavirus escalate.
About 90% of the city’s food is imported, with the bulk coming from the mainland, according to official data.
The scare over the virus comes after months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong, triggered by what many residents see as unnecessary interference by Beijing.
The coronavirus is expected to additional pile pressure on the city’s economy, which sank into recession in the third quarter as the often violent protests scared away tourists and took a heavy toll on retailers.
Extra flights out of China for Brits in Hubei
While Hong Kong discussed plans to limit its border with mainland China, the British Embassy in Beijing revealed plans to help more Brits get out of the coronavirus-hit region of Hubei, calling them the “last flights available”.
“There will be a number of new flights this week arranged by partner countries,” the embassy said in a statement.
“We are working hard to get seats on those flights for British nationals and their immediate families – the Chinese authorities have confirmed that this would include Chinese and third-party nationals.”
It added that they “may be the last flights available for foreign nationals out of Hubei”.