Death Also Reported in Hong Kong... Expert Says "Hong Kong Should Have Closed Checkpoints Sooner"

by Park Sunmi

Published 04 Feb.2020 13:55(KST)

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Sunmi Park] As the first confirmed death from the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) occurred in Hong Kong, there are criticisms that the Hong Kong government should have closed the border with China sooner.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 4th, Professor Gabriel Leung, who leads the Epidemiology and Disease Control Center at the University of Hong Kong Medical School, expressed regret regarding the first confirmed death in Hong Kong, saying, "The Hong Kong government should have responded more decisively and quickly."

Professor Leung pointed out, "Checkpoints in Hong Kong should have been closed in early January," adding, "The best public health measures should be announced all at once, not in stages. While Secretary Carrie Lam's border closure measures are positive, there are doubts about whether the government made timely, swift, and decisive decisions."

Professor Leung's remarks came just one day after Secretary Lam announced that all checkpoints with mainland China except for two would be closed. Currently, the Hong Kong public healthcare union has launched a general strike, demanding a full blockade of the border with China.

Meanwhile, on the same day, the first death from the novel coronavirus infection occurred in Hong Kong. The deceased was a 39-year-old man who had traveled to Wuhan, was diagnosed in Hong Kong, and was receiving treatment at Princess Margaret Hospital. He died suddenly from cardiac arrest that morning. This is the first death from the novel coronavirus in Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China. It is also the second death outside mainland China, following the Philippines.