3 hr 22 min ago From CNN's Steven Jiang in Beijing A spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry castigated the United States for its response to the coronavirus outbreak, accusing Washington of responding inappropriately and feeding mass hysteria. "Most countries appreciate and support China’s efforts to fight against the novel coronavirus, and we understand and respect them when they adopt or enhance quarantine measures at border entry. But in the meantime, some countries, the US in particular, have inappropriately overreacted, which certainly runs counter to WHO advice," Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. She continued: The US government hasn’t provided any substantial assistance to us, but it was the first to evacuate personnel from its consulate in Wuhan, the first to suggest partial withdrawal of its Embassy staff, and the first to impose a travel ban on Chinese travelers. All it has done could only create and spread fear, which is a bad example. Even American media and experts doubted the government’s decision, saying that the US government’s restrictions on China are precisely what the WHO rejects, that the US is turning from overconfidence to fear and overreaction, and that banning the entry of foreigners who traveled to China in the past 14 days is suspected to be violating civil rights instead of reducing risks of virus spreading. In fact, according to a recent CDC report, the US flu from 2019 to 2020 has caused 19 million infection cases and at least 10,000 deaths. By contrast, by February 2, 17,205 cases of nCoV pneumonia were confirmed, 361 died and 475 cured and discharged, while there are only 11 confirmed cases in the US. The contrast is thought-provoking. I also noted that the Canadian Minister of Health said Canada won’t follow the US and impose travel restrictions on Chinese or foreign nationals who have been to China. Canada believe the ban of entry has no basis, which is a sharp contrast to the US behaviors. https://edition.cnn.com/asia/live-n...0-intl-hnk/h_5c8fe0163bee92a7deaaffccfdb77f17
Hong Kong announces further border closures over Wuhan virus From CNN's Isaac Yee and James Griffiths Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks during a press conference in Hong Kong on February 3. Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Monday announced new border closures over the Wuhan virus, amid intense public pressure to stop anyone crossing into the city from mainland China. Lam said further measures were being taken "to ensure the control of the boundary control points to reduce people movement across the border," but fell short of a complete sealing off of the city. Lam said the main land borders at Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau would shut as of midnight tonight, as would the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal. That will leave all but three border crossings between Hong Kong and mainland China closed. Those which remain open are the city's international airport, the Shenzhen Bay border and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge. Lam's announcement comes after health workers in Hong Kong began a five-day strike on Monday, demanding a full border closure and greater support from the government. "This has nothing to do with the five-day strike by healthcare workers," Lam said, however. "If anyone thinks that by resorting to such extreme measures the government will be made to do something that is not rational or something that will only harm the public they will not get anywhere." The number of Chinese citizens entering Hong Kong has fallen since the initial closures, the government said earlier, with the vast majority of those continuing to cross the mainland border being Hong Kong residents. It is unclear how the new closures will affect those who work in the city but live across the border, and vice versa. https://edition.cnn.com/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-02-03-20-intl-hnk/h_fd0a18c3d122e778b46eddb885965409?utm_source=twCNN&utm_content=2020-02-03T09:50:12&utm_term=link&utm_medium=social