Travelers wearing face masks stand in line inside the departure hall at West Kowloon Station, operated by MTR Corp., in Hong Kong, China, on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020.

A decision by the Hong Kong government to scrap major Lunar New Year celebrations due to the coronavirus outbreak is intended to ensure citizens are prepared for the "crisis to come," according to Jacob Kam, CEO of majority state-owned rail operator MTR Corporation.

The virus, which originated in the Wuhan region of mainland China, has now killed 26 people and infected over 800 more. The World Health Organization on Thursday refrained from declaring a global health emergency, suggesting the outbreak was largely confined to China.

Hong Kong has canceled the Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Carnival and the Lunar New Year Cup football tournament, along with tightening its health declaration requirements for high-speed rail passengers. Speaking to CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Friday, Kam said the decisions taken by the Hong Kong government to curb Lunar New Year celebrations were intended to "ensure our citizens prepare for the crisis that is to come."

"There has been a lot of promotion about getting prepared and so on, but nevertheless these celebrations will bring a lot of people together," Kam told CNBC's Karen Tso.

"We are encouraging people to make less unnecessary trips, so unless we believe it is necessary, we probably don't want to hold too many big crowd-gathering events."