The Department of Health has strengthened port health and quarantine measures on travellers arriving from Korea in response to health risks arising from the COVID-19 outbreak in Korea.

The arrangement was made after the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government announced today that it issued the Red Outbound Travel Alert on Korea and imposed a restriction on non-Hong Kong residents arriving from Korea from entering Hong Kong with effect from February 25.

Starting at 6am tomorrow, the department’s Port Health Division will issue quarantine orders to returning Hong Kong residents who have been to Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do in Korea in the past 14 days and arrange for them to stay in a quarantine centre.

Hong Kong residents returning from other Korean cities and provinces will be required to undergo medical surveillance for 14 days.

Regardless of whether they are Hong Kong residents, people arriving in Hong Kong from Korea tonight and until 6am tomorrow are required to undergo medical surveillance for 14 days.

A medical surveillance notification will be issued to those who have been to Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do in Korea in the past 14 days, requiring them to comply with conditions specified in the notification.

The division has deployed extra manpower to conduct additional temperature screening for travellers arriving at the Hong Kong International Airport from Korea.

Those found to have fever or upper respiratory infection symptoms will be sent to hospitals for isolation and treatment.

The Centre for Health Protection has also further revised relevant reporting criteria to enhance surveillance of suspected cases.

It issued letters to doctors and private hospitals to inform them of the revised reporting criteria.

Medical practitioners are requested to report to the centre any individual with fever, acute respiratory illness or pneumonia for further investigation.

The reporting criteria includes people with a travel history to the Mainland or Korea and those who have had close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case within 14 days before onset of symptoms.