China coronavirus: Hubei residents found in Hong Kong hotels, but security chiefs say they are powerless to isolate or deport them
- Immigration officers searched 110 city hotels and identified 15 travellers from province that is epicentre of deadly outbreak
- But none showed any signs of being ill, so officials could only take down their contact details
Security officials said 15 travellers from Hubei province, the epicentre of the deadly coronavirus outbreak, had been found in Hong Kong hotels, but admitted they were powerless to isolate or deport them.
In a special briefing for lawmakers on Thursday, Hinny Lam Shuk-yee, the Security Bureau’s deputy secretary, said immigration officers had searched 110 hotels on Wednesday night, and identified the travellers from the mainland during the course of the evening.
However, as none of the 15 displayed any symptoms associated with the virus, all officials could do was take down their contact details and issue them with health guidelines.
Lam said 1,600 travellers from the province had been stopped from entering Hong Kong as of Wednesday, and 1,300 visitors from Hubei had left the city over the past few days.
More than 6,000 people in Hubei have been infected with the disease, with most of the almost 200 dead from the area.