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Health minister Sophia Chan came under fire for the government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak during a special health panel meeting at the Legislative Council. Photo: RTHK

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.

On Monday, police in Macau checked 86 hotels and deported nearly 150 travellers from Hubei, an approach praised by some Hong Kong lawmakers.

The bureau’s announcement came during a special health panel meeting at the Legislative Council, with officials, including health minister Sophia Chan Siu-chee, coming under fire from lawmakers, many of whom accused the government of doing too little, too late in response to the crisis.

“Last night we searched 110 hotels and found 15 travellers from Hubei,” Lam said. “We have sent them health guidelines and taken down their contact details.”

She said the search was conducted by the Immigration Department, with the cooperation of the hotel industry.

Pro-establishment lawmaker Michael Tien asked why the government was so hesitant to close the border. Photo: Simon Song

Opposition lawmaker Eddie Chu Hoi-dick was not satisfied, and asked Lam if the authorities could have sent the travellers away. “What we need is more than giving them health education,” Chu said.

His pro-establishment rival, Michael Tien Puk-sun, also questioned the effectiveness of containing the virus, if the authorities failed to isolate the group.

But Lam said that, as none had shown any signs of being ill, health guidelines meant they could only take down their personal information.

Tien, also a deputy to the National People’s Congress, joined calls from the pan-democrats for the Hong Kong government to completely close the border.

All you need to know about masks as Wuhan virus leads to Hong Kong shortages

“Many believe the government has not announced a closure, for fear of upsetting Beijing,” Tien said. “But, from what I know, Beijing has no issue with this.

“What makes the government so indecisive? Why doesn’t the government announce a complete border closure now?”

In response, Chan only repeated that the government’s measures, including the suspension of new visas to individual mainland tourists, had already drastically reduced the number of people crossing the border.

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