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Chan Ho-him

All eight publicly funded universities in Hong Kong have told students returning from holiday in Hubei province or any parts of mainland China they must self-quarantine for two weeks, amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Some have also designated dormitories or hotel rooms for quarantine purposes, in case mainland students do not have anywhere else to stay in the city.
The eight universities, which have about 10,000 mainland students, have also extended the suspension of classes on campus, mostly until March 2.
The University of Hong Kong and Polytechnic University both said if students returned from mainland cities, they were required to self-quarantine for two weeks, and fill in a health declaration form before returning to campus, to lower the risk of a community outbreak.


A spokeswoman for HKU said the main purpose was to ensure “the safety of members of our university community and that of Hong Kong as a whole”.
She added that hotel rooms had been provided for non-local students coming back from the mainland, as some dormitories might not be able to provide independent bathrooms and toilets for all who need to be isolated.
A PolyU spokeswoman said: “Even if they don’t have a fever or other symptoms, they are also required to self-quarantine for 14 days.
“Since the situation is evolving, the university will continue to monitor the situation and evaluate relevant arrangements.”
She added that some single rooms had already been reserved at PolyU’s two dormitories for that purpose, and temperature checks would be carried out when residents enter the hostel.


Baptist University and City University also have similar requirements for students returning from the mainland, while Chinese University imposed isolation rules on anyone suspected of having contracted the virus, and those who have come into contact with them.
The University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Lingnan University and Education University imposed the two-week self-quarantine rule only on students who have been to Hubei, the province where the outbreak began.
A Lingnan University spokeswoman said all students who had recently been to Hubei should live in a single room and have their temperature checked every day during the quarantine period.
Coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency, WHO declares
All of Lingnan’s 10 dormitories have the same arrangements, where some rooms in the visitors’ quarters have been set aside for quarantine, while HKUST has reserved single-occupancy rooms at its conference lodge for those who have returned from Hubei but do not have a home base in the city.
On Friday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced the quarantining of all Hongkongers returning from Hubei, while local residents returning from other parts of the mainland were advised to stay at home for 14 days and wear a mask if they go out.


A Chinese University student who identified herself only as Olivia, and lives in one of the Sha Tin campus’ dormitories, said she and many of her peers had chosen to stay in Hong Kong to spend the Lunar New Year amid the spreading outbreak.
“My family was worried [about the coronavirus outbreak] so I stayed,” she said, adding that among her mainland friends who went home for the holiday, most had not yet returned to Hong Kong.
A mainland postgraduate student from the same university who lives in Beijing said he planned to return to Hong Kong on Sunday by taking the high-speed rail to Shenzhen, and then finding a way to cross the border.
“There’s still work for me to do after I return to Hong Kong,” he said. “The earlier I come back, the earlier I can self-quarantine and by the time two weeks have passed it’d almost be the resumption of classes.”
Almost 10,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus had been recorded by Friday evening on the mainland, where there have been more than 210 deaths. Hong Kong has recorded at least 12 confirmed infections so far.


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Coronavirus pandemic

Hong Kong universities impose forced quarantine on students returning from mainland over coronavirus fears

Polytechnic University is one of Hong Kong’s eight publicly funded institutions requiring students to self quarantine. Photo: Nora Tam

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Carrie Lam said anyone who had been to Hubei would be placed under quarantine, whether they showed symptoms or not. Photo: Winson Wong

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor meets the press on the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, Central Government's Offices in Tamar. 31JAN20 SCMP / Winson Wong

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The school break in Hong Kong is being extended again amid the advancing spread of the deadly coronavirus. Photo: Dickson Lee

A man and his child wears a mask at the High Speed Rail Station in West Kowloon. 22JAN20 SCMP / Sam Tsang

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A cleaner sanitising the door at the Holiday Inn in Tsim Sha Tsui on Thursday, amid the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Winson Wong

Cleaning staff working at the Four Seasons Hotel in Central where an elderly couple from Wuhan stayed and are tested positive for the coronavirus. 29JAN20 SCMP / Dickson Lee

News

Hong Kong

Education

Health & Environment


All eight publicly funded institutions set strict criteria for those who have visited family across the border during Lunar New Year holiday
Hotel rooms and dormitories set aside to house those who do not have anywhere else to live in city



All eight publicly funded institutions set strict criteria for those who have visited family across the border during Lunar New Year holiday, with hotel rooms and dormitories set aside to house those who do not have anywhere else to live in city.


Hong Kong universities impose forced quarantine on students returning from mainland over coronavirus fears

All eight publicly funded institutions set strict criteria for those who have visited family across the border during Lunar New Year holiday Hotel rooms and dormitories set aside to house those who do not have anywhere else to live in city

All eight publicly funded institutions set strict criteria for those who have visited family across the border during Lunar New Year holiday

Hotel rooms and dormitories set aside to house those who do not have anywhere else to live in city