Hong Kong takes precautionary measures to combat mysterious disease from China

Hong Kong authorities on Saturday activated a newly created "serious response" level as fears spread about a mysterious infectious disease that may have come from mainland China. At least five cases of viral pneumonia have been reported. It is the same infectious disease that infected 44 people in Wuhan, an island city in China. The outbreak emerged last month when officials in Wuhan reported that several clinics and hospitals in the city have received patients suffering from pneumonia and the cause was not known. 

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China infectious disease outbreak

Authorities in Hong Kong are taking precautionary measures as the city's health department set-up a thermal imaging-system at the airport and the station that connects the city from mainland China. The thermal-imaging systems will check the body temperature of arriving passengers in the city. City Chief Executive Carrie Lam visited the train station to review the health surveillance measures and urged passengers travelling to and from the mainland to be cautious and wear surgical masks. 

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The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission's statement read: "The investigation has commenced and it has so far identified 27 cases as of December 31, 2019. Among them, seven cases were serious and the remaining were stable. Symptoms were mainly fever while a few had presented with shortness of breath. All patients are isolated and receiving treatment. Contact tracing of close contacts and medical surveillance are ongoing."

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Meanwhile, Hong Kong is gripped by ongoing pro-democracy protests that started in June 2019 after China decided to bring in an extradition bill that would allow Beijing to extradite people from the semi-autonomous region. Nearly 400 people were detained by police after New Year's Day demonstration. According to media reports, the arrests made on January 1 were one of the largest arrests in a single day since the unrest began.  

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