Hong Kong warns city on verge of large coronavirus outbreak

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has warned the city is on the brink of a large-scale outbreak of the coronavirus, urging people to stay indoors as much as possible as strict new measures to curb the disease's spread take effect on Wednesday.

The new regulations ban gatherings of more than two people, close dining in restaurants and make the wearing of face masks mandatory in public places, including outdoors.

"We are on the verge of a large-scale community outbreak, which may lead to a collapse of our hospital system and cost lives, especially of the elderly," Lam said in a statement late on Tuesday.

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"In order to protect our loved ones, our healthcare staff and Hong Kong, I appeal to you to follow strictly the social distancing measures and stay at home as far as possible."

The new measures, which will be in place for at least seven days, were announced on Monday after Hong Kong saw a spike in locally transmitted cases over the past three weeks.

The government has also tightened testing and quarantine arrangements for sea and air crew members, effective on Wednesday.

Since late January, more than 2,880 people have been infected in Hong Kong, 23 of whom have died.

Hong Kong was one of the first places hit by the coronavirus when it emerged from China at the start of the year.

It initially had remarkable success in controlling the outbreak -- helped in part by a health-conscious public embracing face masks and an efficient track and trace programme, forged in the fires of the deadly SARS virus in 2003.

By June local transmission had all but ended.

But the virus later snuck back into the city and began spreading.

(with inputs from agencies)