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Photo by Kyle Lam/Bloomberg

Hong Kong has been on high alert regarding communicable diseases since the 2003 outbreak of SARS, which originated in China’s Guangdong province in 2002 and ripped through the financial hub the following year. The virus infected about 2,000 people and killed nearly 300 in Hong Kong, crippling tourism and real estate industries and dealing a major blow to the economy.

The government said it readied at least three quarantine facilities and is preparing a fourth for the new coronaviris. It will halt plans to use the Fai Ming Estate in Fanling as a possible site, it said.

“The government acknowledges and understands that there is concern among some residents in the North District of the requisition of Fai Ming Estate,” it said in a statement late Sunday. “Representatives of relevant government departments will attend North District Council meeting this Wednesday to explain and discuss on the issue. Meanwhile, the government will cease the related preparation work in Fai Ming Estate.”

On Saturday, police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of protesters who gathered in the crowded shopping hub of Mong Kok at the site of a 2016 protest that marked a violent turn by the city’s pro-democracy movement. A rally initially planned for Sunday to mark the so-called Fishball Revolution was canceled.

Photo by Kyle Lam/Bloomberg

More than seven months of pro-democracy protests have battered the former British colony’s economy, undermined its reputation for political stability and increased geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China. Beijing has governed Hong Kong since 1997 under a “one country, two systems” framework that preserves its freedom of expression, independent courts and capitalist financial system.

The demonstrations since June were ignited by a proposed law to allow extraditions to jurisdictions including mainland China. After a couple of months of demonstrations, the government withdrew the bill but the protesters’ demands had broadened to include greater democracy and an independent inquiry into police conduct during the unrest.