Coronavirus: travellers from mainland China face jail if they defy new Hong Kong quarantine measures as thousands rush to cross border before Saturday
- City’s No 2 official deflects queries over quarantine camps as officials face questions over ability to ensure people comply with the restrictions
- Sources reveal vacant land near Disneyland being considered for additional quarantine facilities, including 60 hectares set aside for park expansion
Travellers to Hong Kong from mainland China will risk jail if they breach mandatory quarantine rules introduced at midnight in the only significant measure announced by the government on Friday as it battles to contain the spread of a deadly coronavirus.
Those not showing any symptoms will be required to spend 14 days at their home, with friends or family, or at hotels they have booked. Travellers with nowhere to stay in the city will be sent to designated quarantine facilities.
Anyone breaching the restrictions will face a jail term of up to six months, a fine of up to HK$25,000 (US$3,200) or both, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said at a news conference.
But Cheung deflected queries about details of the new quarantine camps and officials faced a barrage of questions about the ability of the authorities to ensure people quarantined complied with the restrictions.
As officials kept mum about whether there were adequate facilities, sources told the Post the government was considering building quarantine facilities on vacant land near Disneyland, including a 60-hectare site reserved for the park’s expansion.
Housing minister Frank Chan Fan proposed last month that the site be used for flats to help meet a housing shortage.
Tens of thousands hurried to cross the border into Hong Kong yesterday ahead of the new measures being introduced. Long queues appeared at the transport interchange at Shenzhen Bay Port.