Hong Kong closes 10 border crossings with China, China blasts US for ‘not helping’
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Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has announced the closure of 10 out of 13 land and sea border crossings with mainland China in a bid to curb the coronavirus outbreak.
She had already closed some border operations, including cross-border ferries and high-speed rail services.
Only two border checkpoints – at Shenzhen Bay and the bridge to Macau and Zhuhai – will remain open, as well as the airport. But she added she could not rule out further measures should the situation change.
China has blamed the United States for spreading fears about the coronavirus, while also accusing Washington of doing nothing to help contain the outbreak.
The Chinese foreign ministry made the accusation on Monday, as the number of deaths in mainland China attributed to the Coronavirus overtook the Sars epidemic of 2003.
The United States has taken decisive action to protect Americans from the threat of a fast-moving coronavirus while offering help to China, President Donald Trump said on Sunday, but a key adviser said Beijing had not accepted the offers of assistance.
Trump appeared to downplay concerns about the impact in the United States of the flu-like virus that has killed 350 people in China and spread to more than two dozen countries, telling Fox television in an interview, “We’re gonna see what happens, but we did shut it down, yes.”
Concerns about the virus spurred the United States to declare a public health emergency and bar entry to foreign nationals who have recently visited China.
Under new restrictions that went into effect at 5 p.m. ET Sunday, U.S. citizens who have traveled in China within 14 days will be directed to one of eight airports designated for screening, with three more to be added Monday.
