Hong Kong limits mainland China travel as coronavirus death toll continues to rise

(Image credit: Anthony Wallace / Getty Images)

published 28 January 2020

Hong Kong is restricting travel from mainland China amid the spread of the deadly coronavirus that has left at least 106 people dead.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam in a news conference Tuesday said that train service between Hong Kong and mainland China will be suspended beginning Thursday, and flights from the mainland will also be reduced, The Associated Press reports. Tour bus and ferry trips will be suspended as well, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Lam also announced China will "stop issuing visas for individual travelers to Hong Kong from the mainland," The New York Times writes. This comes as China's death toll from the virus that broke out in the city of Wuhan last month has reached 106, with more than 4,500 confirmed cases. Still, Lam "stopped short of completely closing the border between Hong Kong and China, saying it isn't warranted at the moment," the Journal writes.

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Five coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the United States, and the Centers for Disease Control is urging U.S. citizens against travel to China. CNN writes that Hong Kong's new travel restrictions are a "big deal," noting that "memories of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2002 and 2003 run deep in Hong Kong," while the Journal writes that the "curbs on travel are some of the most extreme measures ever taken."

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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