Hong Kong (AFP)
Hong Kong announced Tuesday the closure of a whole series of public facilities, from stadiums to museums, including swimming pools, in order to limit the spread of the epidemic of viral pneumonia which has already claimed more than 100 lives in China.
All recreational facilities will be temporarily closed starting Wednesday to "avoid people gathering," authorities said.
On Saturday, the maximum level of health alert was decreed throughout the territory of Hong Kong.
Eight cases of the virus have been identified in the former British colony. Among them, six people arrived by train from China at a new station recently opened in the heart of Hong Kong.
All sports halls and fields, public swimming pools, beaches, holiday centers and cultural establishments such as museums will be closed "until further notice", said the department in charge of cultural services and Recreation.
Schools and universities, currently closed due to the Chinese New Year holidays, will remain closed until February 17.
Since Monday, all residents from Hubei province, the epicenter of the disease, as well as all those who have visited it in the past two weeks, have been refused entry to the Hong Kong megalopolis.
Over the past few days, politicians and medical experts have made increasing calls to close borders with mainland China for non-Hong Kongers.
"Now the epidemic has spread to many provinces in mainland China. Merely limiting visitors from Hubei cannot really help Hong Kong," pro-democracy MP Helena Wong said on Tuesday. .
© 2020 AFP