HK issues travel alert for foreign locations

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government on Tuesday issued a travel alert urging residents to avoid nonessential outbound travel to areas outside the Chinese mainland, Macao and Taiwan.

Also, starting on Thursday, travelers arriving in Hong Kong from any foreign country will have to undergo a mandatory two-week home quarantine or medical surveillance, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced on Tuesday.

New quarantine rules will not apply to arrivals from Macao and Taiwan, while the same requirements have been in place for travelers from the mainland since Feb 8.

Some 90 percent of the city's new novel coronavirus pneumonia cases in the past two weeks were either imported or related to the patient's close contacts.

More than 4,400 outbound tour groups, consisting of nearly 140,000 travelers, have had their trips canceled as of noon on Monday because of the pandemic, according to Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong. The council said it is working with the government to assist tourists returning to the city as soon as possible.

David Hui Shu-cheong, an infectious disease expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the measures will be effective through discouraging most travel to Hong Kong, while, at the same time, allowing entry of students studying overseas.

"I don't think any traveler would like to enter the city knowing they have to experience 14 days of quarantined life," said Hui, who is a member of the government's advisory panel. He said he considers home quarantine an administrative measure that equals a border shutdown.

Hong Kong reported 10 new infections on Tuesday, nine of which are considered imported cases, bringing the cumulative tally to 167.

At least three cases involved university students studying overseas. They developed symptoms while they were in Europe or upon arrival in Hong Kong.

Health authorities appealed to overseas students not to return to Hong Kong if they would feel ill because they pose risks to others on the flight back. Instead, they are advised to seek for treatment where they are living.

Ho Pak-leung, a top microbiologist at the University of Hong Kong, said the SAR government should further ban non-Hong Kong residents from entering the city for the next month.

Ho said this is to free up space in quarantine facilities so that returning residents who are likely to have caught the disease can be better dealt with.

He suggested returning students stay at designated facilities to protect their family members from contagion.

Also on Tuesday, the Macao government introduced a blanket entry ban on nonlocal visitors starting Wednesday. Chinese nationals from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as nonresident workers employed in Macao, are exempt.

He Shusi contributed to this story.