People returning to Taiwan from Wuhan, China, would be subject to compulsory home confinement for 14 days upon arrival, the Central Epidemic Command Center announced yesterday, as the government stepped up preventive efforts against the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

If they fail to comply, the center would ask police to step in and have them quarantined in designated locations, officials said at a news conference in Taipei.

Medical staff at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital wear protective clothing yesterday in Wuhan, the capital of China’s Hubei Province.
Photo: AFP

Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday convened a Chinese Communist Party politburo meeting in Beijing, saying the nation is facing a grave situation, while Hong Kong declared the outbreak an “emergency” — the territory’s highest warning tier — as authorities ramped up measures to reduce the risk of further infections from a new coronavirus.

Heavy equipment is in use yesterday at the site where a 1,000-bed field hospital is being built in Wuhan, China, for patients with the 2019 novel coronavirus.
Photo: AP / Chinatopix

Chinese authorities yesterday expanded their mammoth quarantine effort to 13 cities and a staggering 41 million people, as nervous residents were checked for fevers and the death toll from the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) climbed to 26.