All travelers entering Hong Kong from mainland China will be placed under quarantine for 14 days, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced at a news conference today.
The rule includes Hong Kong and mainland residents, Lam said.
There are 21 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the semi-autonomous city, of which three are locally infected cases -- suggesting transmission between the community, rather than being brought in from somewhere else.
Travel restrictions: The government suspended four more border crossings yesterday, which has seen entries by travelers from mainland China drop by 60%, Lam said.
However, the city cannot close all borders because many of the arrivals from the mainland are Hong Kong residents who need to return into the city, she said. Besides, Hong Kong relies on the mainland for crucial supplies including food.
"Closing all borders is not workable and may affect the supply of food and daily necessaries. The measures we applied last few days proved that these measures can decrease the number of arrivals and decrease the risk of infection," Lam said.
What the government has done: The government will allocate over 10 billion Hong Kong dollars (about $1.3 billion) in resources to fight the outbreak, Lam said. It has already closed most of Hong Kong's borders with the mainland -- but many in the medical field say that's not enough, and have been on strike for three days.