Coronavirus: Lam letter lets foreign consuls know flight bans, restrictions on Hong Kong residents would be ‘unjustified’
- Chief executive points to city’s ‘excellent’ medical system, safety precautions taken so far in arguing drastic measures not warranted
- Letter comes amid widespread bans on flights from mainland China, prohibitions on entry for citizens
Hong Kong’s leader has urged foreign consuls to tell their governments the city has adopted a strong strategy to fight the coronavirus outbreak, and that drastic measures to ban residents from entering countries overseas would be “unjustified and unwarranted”.
More than 20,600 cases of coronavirus infection have been recorded around the world, including over 20,400 in mainland China, with more than 400 deaths. There were also 18 confirmed cases in Hong Kong, which recorded its first death from the virus on Tuesday.
The letter was revealed on Tuesday, a day after Lam told a press conference she had met a group of consuls on Sunday because various foreign governments had adopted restrictions on travellers arriving from China.
Suspending air passenger services to Hong Kong or drastic measures such as restrictions against entry of Hong Kong residents are, in our view, unjustified and unwarranted
“We arranged the meeting to prevent more foreign governments from rolling out policies that affect Hongkongers, because they don’t understand the work we have done,” she said on Monday.