Coronavirus: four Hongkongers under home quarantine intercepted while trying to leave city

They were sent to a government-run quarantine centre and investigated by police, with two served summons in first such prosecutions

Contravening quarantine measures is a criminal offence punishable by a maximum fine of HK$25,000 (US$3,200) and six months’ jail

1-MIN READ1-MIN

A part of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge in Guangdong. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 1:04am, 18 Feb 2020Updated: 11:46am, 18 Feb 2020

Four Hongkongers under home quarantine amid the coronavirus outbreak have been intercepted in separate cases by authorities while attempting to leave the city for mainland China or Macau.

The Department of Health said they were immediately sent to a quarantine facility and investigated by police.

Among them, two men, aged 41 and 37, were served summonses on Monday, the first such prosecutions since the new compulsory quarantine measures kicked in on February 8.

The pair were stopped at border checkpoints at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and Shenzhen Bay. For the remaining two individuals, the department and police continued to gather evidence for prosecution.

According to the Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong Regulation, all travellers except those exempted are subject to a mandatory quarantine of 14 days if they have been to the mainland in the two weeks before arrival in Hong Kong.