Photo: Xinhua

No patient being treated in Hong Kong hospitals has been found to contract viral pneumonia of unknown cause originating in Wuhan, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a press conference on Tuesday, slamming fear-mongering, fake information that has been posted on social media.

According to a document released on Monday by the Hong Kong Hospital Authority, Hong Kong hospitals have, since December 31, reported treating 21 people who had been in Wuhan and showed fever, respiratory tract infection or pneumonia symptoms. Seven have been discharged from hospital. 

The Hong Kong government has carried out enhanced monitoring measures at ports, and additional personnel were posted at the West Kowloon high-speed railway station on Monday to test passengers arriving from Wuhan with an infrared thermometer. 

Lam urged Hong Kong residents to carefully distinguish between genuine and fake information concerning public health on social media. “The spread of fake news hinders anti-epidemic work,” she said.

Lam called for enhancing the legal basis for the government to quarantine people with infectious diseases. 

Hong Kong’s food and health authority is also revising the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance, which will include new respiratory diseases into the category of notifiable infectious diseases, Lam said. 


Global Times