FILE PHOTO: People wear protective face masks as they take their lunch breaks at the financial Central district, following the outbreak of the new coronavirus, in Hong Kong, China March 2, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong will quarantine all visitors from Italy and parts of France, Germany and Japan for two weeks from March 13 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the French consulate in the Chinese-ruled city said on Tuesday.

The Asian financial hub, a major transit center in the region, will quarantine visitors from Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Grand Est in France, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, and Hokkaido in Japan from midnight on Friday, it said.