HONG KONG - The Hong Kong government, Saturday (25/1/2020), raised its alert status against the spread of the Corona virus which is currently endemic to its highest level. This was conveyed directly by Chief Executive Carrie Lam during a press conference, after holding hours of meetings with relevant officials and experts.
"Today I decided to raise the status of handling the spread of the Corona Virus to an 'emergency'," said Carrie Lam, as reported by the Hong Kong Radio Television (RTHK) publication.
Hong Kong officials said all schools would remain closed until February 17. The government has also ordered the cancellation of the annual Standard Chartered marathon event scheduled for 8 and 9 February 2020.
"We haven't seen a serious and widespread infection, but we are taking it seriously and we hope to be at the forefront of the epidemic," said Lam.
The coronavirus, which is similar to Sars, has created chaos in mainland China with more than 40 people killed and thousands infected. Hong Kong has reported five cases of the virus so far, and all of them arrived via fast train lines from mainland China. [DDHKNews]
