Coronavirus: more than 1,200 Hongkongers stranded around the world have sought help from city government, security minister says
- John Lee says many countries are facing similar problems due to lockdown and officials need to consider multiple factors before offering assistance
- The city government is relying on Chinese embassies overseas to help the residents
John Lee Ka-chiu said many countries faced similar problems and officials needed to consider a lot of factors before rendering possible assistance.
The Covid-19 pandemic has spread across much of the world, with more than 1.5 million confirmed cases. About 88,000 people have died from the disease. Many places, such as India, France, Italy, New Zealand and Britain have implemented restrictive mass quarantines.
Speaking at the Legislative Council, Lee said Hong Kong immigration officers would try their best to help residents stranded abroad, such as by providing daily necessities and medication. He added that they were largely reliant on Chinese embassies overseas to help the residents in trouble, as the diplomatic offices had better knowledge of local situations.
Citing the case of Morocco as an example, Lee said officials had contacted nine airlines but none agreed to help with chartering flights to Hong Kong.