Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's leader, announced the city will shut almost all border control points from midnight, but denied this was as a result of a medical workers strike. The Hospital Authority Employees Alliance (HAEA), which has about 18,000 members, said 2,400 workers took part in the strike, despite calls by the government for medical workers not to. She urged Hong Kong residents to 'stand united' in combating the outbreak, which has killed more than 360 people, all but one in China. The scare over the virus comes after months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong, triggered by what many residents see as unnecessary interference by Beijing in city affairs. Panic-stricken residents have emptied shelves in major supermarkets in Hong Kong, stockpiling meat, rice and cleaning products as fears escalate over the coronavirus.

Source: Daily Mail February 03, 2020 08:18 UTC