In this photo dated Dec 17, 2019, Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the capacity of acting chief executive, speaks to the media ahead of an Executive Council meeting in Hong Kong. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

HONG KONG - The Hong Kong government is on its highest state of alert against the threat of the Wuhan contagion, as it believes the chance of the city reporting its first confirmed case is far from negligible.

Should Hong Kong have a confirmed case, the government would activate its contingency mechanism, Acting Chief Executive Matthew Cheung Kin-chung told reporters

Should Hong Kong have a confirmed case, the government would activate its contingency mechanism, Acting Chief Executive Matthew Cheung Kin-chung told reporters ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting on Tuesday.

The administration has adopted a multi-pronged strategy in response to surging number of patients on the mainland and with the Lunar New Year holiday rush approaching, he said.

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Beginning Tuesday, all air passengers arriving from Wuhan are required to make health declarations when entering Hong Kong. The authorities would also require reports on patients with pneumonia-like symptoms and history of travel in the past 14 days to Hubei province, whose capital is Wuhan.

Hong Kong has recorded 106 suspected cases, but none of them were found to have been infected with the novel coronavirus. Of them, 81 patients have been discharged and the rest are in quarantine.

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Cheung said the city’s public hospitals are fully equipped to handle more suspected cases with the provision of 500 isolation beds and protective equipment for frontline medical practitioners.

As of 8 am on Tuesday, China confirmed 219 cases, mostly in Wuhan, including four deaths. Hong Kong’s neighboring Guangdong province reported 14 cases, with nine cases reported in Shenzhen bordering HK.