China pneumonia: Hong Kong authorities take low-key approach to passengers arriving in Hong Kong on Wuhan trains
- Screening facilities at West Kowloon rail terminus appear to be bypassed by travellers disembarking from Wuhan services
- Hong Kong activates ‘serious’ response level after outbreak of unidentified form of pneumonia, but health chief stands by checks at railway station
The monitoring of rail passengers arriving in Hong Kong from a mainland Chinese city affected by the outbreak of an unidentified form of pneumonia appeared lax on Saturday, despite health officials triggering a “serious” response level.
A lane dedicated for travellers from Wuhan at the high-speed rail terminus in West Kowloon was unused even as passengers got off a train that had stopped in the central China metropolis, the Post observed on Saturday night.
Three members of staff, from an unknown agency, were standing at the end of the special lane – marked “travellers from Wuhan, please go this way” – but made no visible attempts to identify passengers who had embarked in the Hubei province city.
Also at the arrival area, passengers had to walk past one of two counters making body temperature checks.
A notice from the health department asked people travelling from Wuhan to report if they had fever or respiratory symptoms up to 14 days before the outbreak. However, the A4 sign could be easily missed by passengers rushing past.
A broadcast at the station warning of the infectious disease outbreak in Wuhan and advising visitors there to avoid visiting local wet markets and seafood markets was probably the most obvious action taken by the authorities to alert travellers of the situation.
It also suggested people wear face masks and consult doctors as soon as possible if they show signs of a fever or cough after returning to Hong Kong.