Hong Kong protestors march against potential Coronavirus quarantine clinics

Scores of anti-government protestors rallied through multiple Hong Kong neighbourhoods on February 15 protesting the government plans to potentially convert some buildings into Coronavirus quarantine centres and demanding the complete shutdown of the mainland China border, as per reports. The anger spiked over the Chief Executive Carrie Lam's refusal to completely shut the border with mainland China, where the virulent Coronavirus is believed to have originated. It has resulted in some medical staff going on strike.

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Hundreds rallied

Hundreds rallied in the northern neighbourhood of Tai Po and Tin Shui Wai and chanted slogan like "Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our times" and "Oppose pneumonia clinic". Most of the protestors wore surgical masks and were all dressed in black. Some buildings in those neighbourhoods had been designated as potential quarantine sites. The residents demanded the government of complete border closure and against the potential epidemic clinics in 18 districts.

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CNHC record new deaths

China’s National Health Commission said it had recorded 121 new deaths and 5,090 new Coronavirus cases on the mainland on February 13, taking the total infected tally to 66,864 people. Nearly 55,748 people are presently undergoing treatment at various hospitals across the country and 1522 people have died from the novel coronavirus outbreak that has emerged in Hubei province’s capital, Wuhan, in December.

The hard-hit Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, has reported 116 new fatalities and reported 4,823 new confirmed cases on Thursday, the provincial health commission said. The latest report brought the total confirmed cases in Hubei province to 51,986, a state-run news agency reported.

The World Health Organisation on Thursday said a sharp rise of 254 cases of COVID-19 (official name for coronavirus) cases in China, due to a change in counting methods, did not represent a big shift in the epidemic.

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(With inputs from Agencies)