Dr. Marc Siegel: No need to panic about coronavirus in US

https://www.foxnews.com/media/dr-marc-siegel-coronavirus-united-states-china

Americans have no reason to panic over the coronavirus, Fox News medical correspondent Dr. Marc Siegel said Saturday.

"People are walking down the street with masks about a virus that literally only has infected 12 people" in the United States, he said.

Siegel, appearing on "Fox & Friends: Weekend," said Chinese misinformation and secrecy has made the virus harder to control, but the United States has done a great job in helping to control the spread and treat infected people.

While the risk of infection in America right now is "very, very, very, low," he said China's failure to stem the outbreak is causing a  "greater risk to the world."

The fast-spreading virus has killed more than 700 people and infected more than 34,500 in China as of Friday. According to the World Health Organization, 72 countries have implemented travel restrictions.

Video

Siegel told the "Fox & Friends" hosts that Chinese officials are still suppressing information about the full extent of the epidemic in that country.

"I believe there [are] well over 34,000 cases -- probably closer to 100,000," he said.

So far, 12 patients have been diagnosed with the virus in the U.S. and a 60-year-old  diagnosed with the virus in Wuhan, China -- the epicenter of the outbreak -- has reportedly become the first U.S. citizen to die.

The virus first occurred in a Washington state man who has since been released from the hospital. Six other cases have been confirmed in California, as well as one each in Wisconsin, Arizona and Massachusetts, and two in Illinois.

In addition, more than 800 Americans were evacuated from Wuhan this week. All evacuees will spend 14 days under quarantine on military bases before being released.

American officials said Friday the U.S was prepared to spend up to $100 million to assist China and other nations in fighting the outbreak. The offer remains on the table, said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

"I think we're going to see a worldwide pandemic from this. I don't think we are going to see anything here of the level of what is happening there, though," Siegel said.

"We have to get boots on the ground, though, over in China, which hasn't happened yet," he said.

Port of Johnstown marks best year in decades

Wayne Lowrie, Published on: February 3, 2020

https://www.recorder.ca/news/local-news/port-of-johnstown-marks-record-year

The Port of Johnstown finished last year with its highest revenues in the last two decades. MARIO FAUBERT / JPG, BT

The Port of Johnstown finished last year with its highest revenues in the last two decades.

In its annual report, the port, which has been owned by the Township of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal since 2001, said it made $3.5 million in 2019 because of record volumes of cargo moved through Johnstown.

Last year’s profit represents an increase of 18.2 per cent over 2018 and the fifth straight increase since 2014, the port’s managers said in the annual report.

The profits are the result of increased cargo volumes.

Since 2001, cargo has jumped 47 per cent and “the trend continues to move in a positive direction,” the report said.

Two weather-related factors affected shipping last year.

Grain shipments were down because of a poor harvest caused by weather.

“The weather pattern started in the winter with swings from warm temperatures that brought rain to periods of cold temperature,” the report said. ”This weather is hard on the winter wheat and resulted in over 50 per cent of the winter wheat being winter killed.”
The bad weather also affected volumes of corn and soybeans through the port.

But while the weather took its toll on harvest shipments, the port benefited from another weather-induced cargo – road salt.
The port had a record year in salt shipments with 30 ships unloading their salty cargoes in Johnstown, an increase of 19 per cent over 2018.

The weather also had another unintended consequence for the port. The facility welcomed 10 cruise boats that docked in Johnstown because of high water at Kingston and Prescott.

Although soybean volumes dipped slightly below the 2018 record volumes, it continued to be the biggest commodity handled by the port – 52 per cent of the volume compared with 38 per cent for corn and 9.5 per cent for wheat.

“The results are extremely gratifying as we continue to see an upward trend in cargo handled here at the port,” Mayor Pat Sayeau of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal said in a statement.

“We are definitely on the map as we continue to take calls from major players in the shipping industry who want to find out more about our services.”

One of the highlights of the year was the federal government’s announcement of $4.8 million from the National Trade Corridor Fund toward expanding the port’s grain-handling infrastructure.

“We have exciting years ahead as we continue to invest under the National Trade Corridor Funding, which will result in more efficient ship-loading, as well as increased grain storage for our local producers,” Sayeau said.

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Female Genital Mutilation Increasing in Germany due to Muslim Immigration

Female Genital Mutilation Rising in Germany Because of Mass Migration Says German Doctor

The Associated Press

KURT ZINDULKA

7 Feb 2020272

2:42

Over 70,000 women in Germany have been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), and a further 17,000 young girls are at risk of having the barbaric procedure being committed against them.

A German doctor, Cornelia Strunz, who works at the Desert Flower Center said that the number of cases of FGM in Germany is rising due to increased migration from Islamic African and Asian countries, dubbed the ‘FGM Zone’ where the practice is widespread.

“Many women have problems emptying their bladder after FGM. Menstrual blood can’t drain properly. For some, sex becomes practically impossible. Women can also develop fistulas — connections between two body parts which should not exist at all in normal circumstances. One example would be a link between the vagina and rectum, leading to them passing stools through the vagina. Obviously, that’s not very easy to live with”, Dr Strunz told Deutsche Welle.

Female genital mutilation is illegal in Germany, leading many families to travel to their country of origin to have the gruesome ritual performed on their daughters

Shadia Abdelmoneim, a Sudanese woman living in Germany, had her genitals cut by her midwife while she was under anaesthetic, after the birth of her third child.

“I wanted to go to the toilet, but something wasn’t right. I couldn’t walk and was in considerable pain. When I saw what she had done, I was shocked. She’d cut everything open and then sewn it closed. I had no idea what to do”, Shadia told DW.

She told the German paper that the trauma led to a constant state of fear, for herself and for her three young daughters.

“How could women do something like that to one another, how? Being circumcised is like living in a dead body”, she said mournfully.

In response to the rising epidemic, Berlin is establishing its first anti-FGM centre, however, activists have called for more action including information campaigns that target the families of at-risk children.

“Many teachers and school staff aren’t well informed and don’t recognize the warning signs that a girl’s at risk of FGM. Sometimes, they also struggle to approach the issue in a sensitive manner”, said Charlotte Weil of the Terre des Femmes women’s rights charity, but warned that “a thousand-year-old tradition cannot be abolished in a couple of years.”

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/02/07/female-genital-mutilation-rising-in-germany-because-of-mass-migration-says-german-doctor/

Dr. Li Wenliang: Dead from coronavirus or communism?

February 7, 2020
By Ronald C. Tinnell
www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/02/dr_li_wenliang_dead_from_coronavirus_or_communism.html




Dr. Li Wenliang, the ophthalmologist who first raised the alarm about the coronavirus in China, has passed away.  When he tried to warn colleagues about the disease, he was arrested by the authorities for "rumor-mongering."  "We solemnly warn you: If you keep being stubborn, with such impertinence, and continue this illegal activity, you will be brought to justice — is that understood?"

It is reported that he caught the disease from a patient or patients he was treating and died some days later.  Do you believe this?  Only about 2% of the people who contract this virus die from it.  Like the flu and other coronaviruses, most of the people who die from this virus are very old, very young, or weakened by some other medical problem.  Li Wenliang was 34 years old.  If he had some other underlying health problem, it has not been reported.

His death is suspiciously convenient for certain Chinese authorities.  Had he lived, he would have been available to relate how he was silenced and prevented from raising the alarm during the early stages of the outbreak, when it would have been much easier to control.  In a totalitarian country like China, there will be no public investigation into his death.  If there is any investigation, it will be upper-level officials investigating the actions of lower-level officials, and the results will not be made public.

Unless the current communist regime in China falls, we will probably never know for sure, but I'm betting he died not of coronavirus, but of communism.  If I am right about this, he joins countless millions who have died of this malady in the past, and many more will, no doubt, follow in his path till the Chinese people find their way to a better form of government.

Coronavirus outbreak: Passengers stranded on Japan cruise plead for help from Trump, say situation is 'desperate'

https://www.foxnews.com/media/japan-coronavirus-cruise-ship-passengers-plead-for-help-from-president-trump

Passengers Milena Basso and her husband Gaetano Cerullo are calling for help from President Trump after being trapped on a Diamond Princess cruise ship off the coast of Japan with at least 61 positive cases of coronavirus.

The newlyweds -- on their honeymoon -- are two of more than 2,000 passengers who have been held on the ship since Tuesday.

Appearing on "America's Newsroom" with host Ed Henry, the couple said that while their physical health is "pretty good," mentally they are "not so great."

Additionally, the pair told Henry they were disheartened to learn that updates were coming faster from their parents and news outlets than from those on the ship itself.

"So, basically, I know what's going on before they even tell us from our parents at home...and, they update us but it's always been very lagged," said Cerullo.

"It's been vague up until maybe today -- not, like, thorough as it should be. So, we were a little concerned about that," Basso interjected.

Video

The two reported they were already experiencing trouble getting food and water on the ship, which Basso guestimated produces around 22,000 meals per day and has five dining halls.

"I don't know how many people have been on a cruise, but you can eat a lot of food pretty fast. Once the quarantine happened, what we could eat basically went downhill," said Cerullo.

"The first day when we asked for two bottles of water it took four hours and the next day we got two cups," he added.

The cruise ship Diamond Princess is anchored at Yokohama Port for supplies replenished in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. The 3,700 people on board faced a two-week quarantine in their cabins. Health workers said 10 more people from the Diamond Princess were confirmed sickened with the virus, in addition to 10 others who tested positive on Wednesday. The 10 will be dropped off as the ship docks and transferred to nearby hospitals for further test and treatment. (Kenzaburo Fukuhara/Kyodo News via AP)

The infections on the Diamond Princess reportedly originated from one passenger who got on the ship in Yokohama on Jan. 20 and disembarked in Hong Kong on Jan. 25, according to the cruise line statement. Princess Cruises said he didn't visit the ship's medical center to report any symptoms or illness.

Officials began screening guests on Monday with what the couple said was an ear thermometer without a disposable tip.

The Diamond Princess ship is part of the Princess Cruises line, which is owned by British-American Carnival Corporation.

"Guests will continue to be provided complimentary internet and telephone to use in order to stay in contact with their family and loved ones, and the ship’s crew is working to keep all guests comfortable, a Wednesday statement read.

There are 31,427 cases of coronavirus over 25 countries worldwide. There have been at least 638 deaths recorded.

"We are kind of worried because we've still got two weeks on here assuming that works out in our favor and we still have to get onto American soil," Cerullo explained. "And, if Donald Trump could help us in any way..."

"We need help. We are in a desperate, desperate state," Basso pleaded.

Appeals court hands Trump win, rules Dem lawmakers cannot sue over business payments

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/appeals-court-hands-trump-win-rules-dem-lawmakers-cannot-sue-over-business-payments

A federal appeals court on Friday unanimously ruled that more than 200 Democratic congressional lawmakers do not have standing to sue President Trump over allegations he violated the Emoluments Clause over foreign payments to his businesses.

“Because we conclude that the Members lack standing, we reverse the district court and remand with instructions to dismiss their complaint,” the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said in its ruling.

“The [House] Members can, and likely will, continue to use their weighty voices to make their case to the American people, their colleagues in the Congress and the President himself, all of whom are free to engage that argument as they see fit,” the court continued. “But we will not – indeed we cannot – participate in this debate.”

The court added that “the Constitution permits the Judiciary to speak only in the context of an Article III case or controversy and this lawsuit presents neither.”

Holding up a copy of the ruling as he departed Washington for a North Carolina event, Trump blasted the suit as a "phony" case.

“It was a total win,” he declared.

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

Another win just in. Nervous Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats in Congress sued me, thrown out. This one unanimous, in the D.C. Circuit.
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The ruling comes after the court ruled in August that Trump could challenge the lawsuit, saying the litigation raises the "unsettled" question of whether politicians have standing to sue a sitting president for running international businesses.

The Emoluments Clause is contained in Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution and states that “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title of any kind whatsoever, from any King, Prince, or foreign state.”

More than 200 congressional Democrats brought the lawsuit against the president in June 2017, alleging that Trump violated the clause. Democrats argued that they had standing to sue because the clause says only Congress may approve foreign gifts and payments.

In a joint statement on Friday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., both of whom helped organize the suit, said they were “disappointed” in the decision.

“Today’s decision was not a decision on the merits of our allegations that President Trump has been defying the Foreign Emoluments Clause, and nothing in today’s opinion changes the fundamental facts: President Trump has flagrantly and frequently violated the Constitution’s preeminent protection against corruption,” Blumenthal said, adding that they are evaluating “next steps.”

“We remain fully committed to doing everything in our power to hold President Trump accountable for his unacceptable, unconstitutional misconduct,” he continued.

Nadler downplayed the decision, saying it was a “technical dismissal” that “in no way condones” Trump’s alleged violations.

“The Founders recognized the dangers of foreign influence and corruption, and President Trump embodies those fears every day as he profits off of his presidency,” Nadler said.

Upon taking office, the president turned over control of his companies to his sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr., but did not divest from them, meaning he still technically can benefit financially from the Trump Organization’s profits, including from foreign governments.

Since becoming president, the Trump Organization had secured dozens of valuable patents, including in China, and collected fees from lobbyists working for Saudi Arabia and other countries using his properties.

A federal appeals court, earlier this year, dismissed a similar Emoluments Clause lawsuit filed against Trump by the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia.

"I got sued on a thing called emoluments. Emoluments. You ever hear of the word? Nobody ever heard of it before," Trump said at an event in Pennsylvania last year.

Can Private Lawsuits Rein in Government-Media Tyranny?

William Marshall Posted: Feb 07, 2020 12:01 AM

townhall.com/columnists/williammarshall/2020/02/07/can-private-lawsuits-rein-in-governmentmedia-tyranny-n2560926 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you do when federal government agents manufacture false rumors that you’re a Russian spy? What if they then launch a phony counterintelligence investigation against a US presidential candidate? What do you do when the mainstream media, weirdly allied with corrupt government officials, furthers their lies about you? Or what if the media accuses an innocent high school student of being a racist, selectively editing a video of said teenager to further that falsehood - all because he’s wearing a MAGA hat? What if you are innocent and state prosecutors charge you with second degree murder based on a fake “witness” they surely know is a fraud?

These are the questions that our surreal times pose. We live in an age in which it has become apparent the government is terrifyingly abusive of the people it ostensibly serves. And of even greater concern, the media, which is supposed to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable,” is hell-bent on protecting that abusive government.

It seems that in the year 2020, the way forward becomes clear. The answer to these abuses by the government and their cohorts in the Deep State Media may be through successful private litigation.

An early victory in this new battlefront may have already been won. Nick Sandmann, the MAGA hat-wearing teenager from Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky, had the misfortune of being approached by a Native American activist named Nathan Phillips at the Lincoln Memorial in January 2019 during a pro-life school field trip. Phillips was there as part of an Indigenous People’s March and began beating a drum in Sandmann’s face. Video and reporting of the interaction between Sandmann and Phillips was initially misrepresented to imply that Sandmann had somehow approached Phillips in an aggressive manner, and was part of a racist mob no less! Phillips would later tell the gullible and eager media that the high school students were “attacking” several members of the Black Hebrew Israelites. Soon enough, more expansive, unedited video would show neither aggression nor racism by Sandmann and his classmates.

Chief among the media distorters were CNN, the Washington Post and NBC, who were collectively sued for defamation by Sandmann for aggregate damages of $800 million for their shameful misreporting. Guess what? CNN settled with Messr. Sandmann for an undisclosed sum. That is a signal victory, not only for Nick Sandmann, but for all Americans who have been routinely slandered as racists, xenophobes, bigots and countless other epithets simply because they supported Donald Trump and the traditional, patriotic values he espouses. Let’s see what the Washington Post and NBC decide in dealing with their lawsuits, as well as potentially an additional 12 media defendants Sandmann’s attorneys may sue. Their litigation may go a long way toward convincing the Fourth Estate to be more responsible in its journalistic mission.

A reputed government agent, Stefan Halper, in addition to media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal (in the form of its parent company, Dow Jones), NBC Universal and the Washington Post, was named by British academic Svetlana Lokhova in a defamation suit she brought in Virginia alleging that Mr. Halper launched a smear campaign against Lokhova, insinuating she was a Russian spy while working at Cambridge University, and was romantically involved with Gen. Michael Flynn. Ms. Lokhova strongly rejected the allegations. Her suit alleges that her career was irreparably damaged by the slander. If her case succeeds, it may give operatives working for the federal government, if in fact that’s what Mr. Halper was, as Ms. Lokhova alleges, pause before embarking on campaigns of reputational destruction of innocent parties targeted by our government.

Such abuse of government power, however, can occur at the local level as well, based on allegations contained in another lawsuit, brought by George Zimmerman in Florida. Zimmerman was the hapless community watch volunteer who had the misfortune to encounter Trayvon Martin on a rainy night in Sanford, Florida in February 2012. As Zimmerman sought to aid police in locating Martin, who was lurking suspiciously in Zimmerman’s housing complex which had suffered from serial burglaries, Martin viciously assaulted him without provocation. While receiving blows "MMA style," according to one eyewitness, and getting his head pounded into the concrete by Martin, Zimmerman drew his legally possessed handgun and shot Martin, killing him.

After being exonerated by a thorough police investigation, Zimmerman was charged and prosecuted for second-degree murder when a mysterious "phone witness" appeared out of nowhere claiming Zimmerman was the aggressor. The recently released fascinating book and movie by the same name, The Trayvon Hoax, proves this witness, Rachel Jeantel, was a complete fraud. Rachel Jeantel took the stand at Zimmerman’s trial and pretended to have been on the phone with Trayvon Martin just prior to his death. Gilbert's film proves in fact the real girl on the phone was Jeantel's half- sister, Brittany Diamond Eugene. Gilbert's research also provides conclusive evidence that Brittany Diamond Eugene was the girl who had spoken to Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump in a recorded phone call, and it was she who had signed and provided a letter to Travyon's mother Sybrina Fulton as well. When Eugene refused to bear false witness to prosecutors, Rachel Jeantel took her place.

 This was serious stuff. The Sanford Police Department had already investigated the events which led to the death of Martin and concluded that Zimmerman had acted in self-defense. But as a result of Jeantel’s allegedly false testimony to prosecutors, Zimmerman was arrested and charged with murder, potentially facing life in prison.

Although her statements managed to get Zimmerman arrested and put on trial, fortunately, Jeantel’s credibility completely collapsed on the witness stand, as she was unable to read the cursive handwriting in the letter to Trayvon’s mother. Zimmerman was acquitted. However, Zimmerman never should have been charged in the first place A recent lawsuit filed by Zimmerman against Jeantel, Eugene, Crump and others, including the prosecutors in the case, the State of Florida and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement alleges that the defendants knowingly conspired to perpetrate the witness fraud and seeks damages for the deprivation of Zimmerman’s civil rights. If successful, the lawsuit may represent a landmark case of an innocent American, who was targeted for destruction by an unholy alliance of corrupt government officials and people seeking profit, fame, and career advancement on a wave of political correctness, fighting back.

It is regrettable that innocent individuals are required to resort to the courts to seek private redress against false claims of being Russian spies, bigots or murderers. But it is even more egregious that government actors would be complicit in furthering the falsehoods, as these lawsuits allege. However, if a few intrepid victims are successful in pushing back against such calumnies, it may go a long way toward righting the behavior of both the media and the government.


William F. Marshall has been an intelligence analyst and investigator in the government, private, and non-profit sectors for more than 30 years. He is a senior investigator for Judicial Watch, Inc., and a contributor to Townhall, American Thinker, and The Federalist. (The views expressed are the author’s alone, and not necessarily those of Judicial Watch.)

Israelis Under Attack, Media MIA

By Daniel Pomerantz February 6, 2020

honestreporting.com/israelis-under-attack-media-mia/

 

 
Israeli policemen inspect the site of a car-ramming attack. (Photo by OREN BEN HAKOON/AFP via Getty Images)

Israelis have just suffered at least three terror attacks in under 24 hours. Details are still coming in, but here’s what we know so far:

1. In the predawn hours of Thursday morning, an as-yet-unidentified assailant rammed his car into a group of Golani Brigade soldiers standing outside Jerusalem’s First Station, a popular entertainment hub. The troops were visiting Jerusalem ahead of an early morning swearing-in ceremony at the Western Wall. Twelve soldiers were injured in the attack, one of them seriously and the rest lightly. Nine  have already been released from the hospital. The severely wounded serviceman sustained injuries throughout this body and underwent surgery. The terrorist’s car, which had Israeli license plates, was found abandoned in the Palestinian village of Beit Jala outside of Bethlehem.
2. A Border Police officer was lightly injured in a shooting attack in the Old City of Jerusalem, outside the Temple Mount near the Lions Gate.  The assailant, who was shot and killed by responding security personnel, was identified as an Arab Israeli from Haifa in his 40s who recently converted from Christianity to Islam.
3. A drive-by shooting attack along a West Bank highway near the Dolev settlement. One soldier was lightly injured.

It took time for the foreign press to catch up with the day’s Israeli media reports . When the Associated Press eventually published an article, it began with the words:

Israeli forces killed two Palestinians…

Reuters began with the phrase:

At least two Palestinians were killed and 16 Israelis hurt…

They did not clarify that the Palestinians who had been killed were reportedly carrying out acts of violence when they were shot: at least one was in the act of throwing a Molotov cocktail at Israeli troops.

An AFP  article was constructed similarly to the AP and Reuters stories.


As these are wire services, we expect to see their coverage echoed by many news outlets throughout the world in the coming hours.

Is this normal? Is it appropriate? Is it too soon to expect meaningful and properly researched coverage?

No.

Just in recent weeks alone, stories of attacks from Streatham, London to Burkina Faso saw almost immediate international coverage that emphasized the horrific impact of terrorism on innocent civilians.

Yet even though the attacks against Israelis are being widely covered in Israeli and Jewish press, and even though all of the relevant information has been widely available throughout the day, the international press has said very little, and what it has said has been horribly misleading. This stands stands in stark contrast to coverage of other terror attacks around the world.

Why does this matter? Because without proper context, it is impossible for news readers, international leaders, or even journalists themselves to understand events as they unfold.

For example:

• Last Tuesday the White House announced its long awaited peace plan to widespread criticism in the international press, in particular with respect to its provisions for Israeli security and demilitarization of a Palestinian state.
• Later that same day, a furious President Abbas gave the green light to a Palestinian national “day of rage,” which expressed itself on Wednesday in the form of riots, burning tires, and rocket-fire from Gaza into Israeli communities.
• The events of Wednesday’s rage gradually escalated over the hours: and now, on Thursday, Israelis are being rushed to hospitals as a result of car rammings and shootings.
• The next step, which almost always escapes the attention of the international press, is that the Palestinian government will pay the attackers and their families a cash reward: in amounts equal to several times the average Palestinian income, for the rest of their lives. We know this will happen because it is required by Palestinian law: it’s called the “Martyrs Fund” and often referred to as “Pay for Slay.“

 As I write this, our entire team at HonestReporting is working furiously to get the message out to the public, and to encourage international press stationed in Israel to live up to their professional obligations and cover this critical story.
Watch this space.

Hong Kong unveils novel coronavirus quarantine plans, with jail for dodgers

07 Feb 2020 07:42PM (Updated: 08 Feb 2020 12:13AM)
www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/wuhan-virus-coronavirus-hong-kong-quarantine-12406438 

 

HONG KONG: Hong Kong on Friday (Feb 7) said it will deploy an army of volunteers to bolster plans to forcibly quarantine all arrivals from mainland China, warning that anyone caught breaching the new rules faces up to six months' jail.

In a major escalation of its battle against the new coronavirus, the international finance hub has said anyone arriving from the mainland from Saturday will have to undergo 14 days compulsory quarantine.

Officials hope the new measures will virtually halt all cross-border traffic while allowing the city to remain stocked with food and goods from the mainland where the virus has killed more than 600 people.

Cabinet ministers unveiled the quarantine plans just six hours before the new policy was due to come on.

Hong Kong residents arriving from mainland China will be allowed to self-quarantine at home. Chinese and international visitors will be able to self-quarantine at hotels or any other accommodation they have arranged.

"If they cannot arrange accommodation, they will be taken to the temporary facilities prepared by the government," health secretary Sophia Chan said.

Anyone who has been to mainland China in the past 14 days and then flies into Hong Kong from another destination will also be quarantined.

Officials - backed by volunteers from the civil service and some students - will conduct spot checks or make daily phone calls to ensure people were staying at home.

Those caught breaking their quarantine face up to six months in jail and a HK$25,000 (US$3,200) fine.

"We will be stopping a lot of people with the new measures," Security Minister John Lee said.


PANIC BUYING

The new regulations have been enacted under a sweeping emergency law that allows city leaders to bypass the legislature during a disease outbreak.

Exemptions would be made for a variety of key jobs, including flight and shipping crews as well as cross border truck drivers to ensure goods and food keep coming into the city.

Hong Kong has been hit by a wave of panic-buying in recent days with supermarket shelves frequently emptied of crucial goods such as toilet paper, hand sanitiser, rice and pasta.

The government has blamed false online rumours of shortages, saying supplies are stable.
"The problem of supply shortage doesn't exist," said Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung.

"Citizens do not need to worry or make excessive purchases out of panic. I urge the public not to believe in rumours."

The new coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan at the end of last year has killed more than 630 people and spread around the world.

 The latest figures from China show there are more than 30,000 people infected there.

Outside mainland China, there have been more than 320 infections reported in two dozen countries.
Hong Kong has 25 confirmed cases with one patient who died earlier this week. Many of the newer infections have no history of travel to mainland China, prompting fears that the city now has a local self-sustaining outbreak.

There have been growing calls for the border with China to be sealed entirely.

Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leadership, which currently has record low approval ratings after months of protests, had been reluctant to make such a move.

Thousands of medical workers, including some doctors and nurses, have been on strike this week in a bid to force the government to entirely seal the border.

On Friday, hundreds of union members occupied the offices of the Hospital Authority. Late Friday the union called off its strike.