S Korea, Taiwan sound alarm over HK outbreaks

South Korea says it is concerned about Hong Kong people bringing the new coronavirus to the country. Photo: AFP

Candice Wong reports

South Korea and Taiwan on Tuesday both issued warnings regarding coronavirus infections among people in Hong Kong, after a scare at a Tsing Yi housing estate appeared to provide further evidence that the illness is spreading in the community.



A partial evacuation was ordered for one housing block on Monday night over fears the virus could have been carried from one resident to another via the building's drainage system, with other clusters of cases in Hong Kong found in a family who had hot pot together over Chinese New Year, and among members of another family who had gathered to play mahjong.



South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said that from Wednesday, the authorities would apply "strict quarantine screening" to people arriving from Hong Kong and Macau, in addition to those travelling to the country from mainland China.



"The possibility of an inflow of coronavirus patients from such regions heightened as Hong Kong reported 36 confirmed cases and one death, and Macau reported 10 cases as of Monday," the agency quoted Jung Eun-kyeong, head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as saying.



The measures were said to include health questionnaires asking people whether they have a fever or respiratory problems, and special counters for people arriving from the various parts of China.



Passengers would also have to provide officials with their mobile phone numbers and the details of where they were planning to stay in South Korea.



Meanwhile, Taiwan warned its residents to avoid all non-essential travel to Hong Kong and Macau.



Officials on the island noted that Hong Kong has seen cases of the virus in the community where the source of infection was unknown.



Hong Kong has so far confirmed 42 coronavirus infections, with 28 in South Korea, 10 in Macau and 18 in Taiwan.