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Hong Kong has decided to impose a mandatory 14-day quarantine on all visitors from mainland China as it battles to prevent the spread of a coronavirus outbreak.

The policy comes into effect on February 8, but officials refused to close the border entirely, as demanded by medical staff who have gone on strike.

Hong Kong, which has 21 confirmed cases and one fatality, suffered 300 deaths in the SARS outbreak in 2002-2003.

There are 24,300 confirmed coronavirus cases and 490 deaths in mainland China.

Those figures included an additional 4,000 cases and 65 deaths on February 4.

The new virus has spread overseas, with 25 nations confirming a total of 191 cases, although there has so far been only one death, in the Philippines.

The WHO has declared the outbreak a global health emergency. On February 5, WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appealed for $675 million to fund a three-month response plan.

Meanwhile, at least 10 people on board a cruise ship docked in the Japanese port of Yokohama have tested positive for the virus.

The coronavirus causes severe acute respiratory infection and symptoms usually start with a fever, followed by a dry cough. Most people infected are likely to fully recover – just as they would from a flu.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said anyone arriving from the mainland, including foreigners, would be quarantined for 14 days from February 8, although she did not say how this would be imposed.

It is unclear where the quarantines would take place or whether Hong Kong residents could spend the time at home.

Tens of thousands of people arrived from the mainland on February 4.

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Carrie Lam has not moved to close the border entirely, although thousands of medical staff on February 5 entered the third day of their strike over the issue and have threatened to escalate their action.

Hong Kong will, however, close the Ocean and Kai Tak cruise terminals.

Some 3,600 passengers and crew on the World Dream, docked at Kai Tak, are being tested for the virus after three Chinese passengers who were on the ship between January 19 and 24 tested positive after disembarking.

Hong Kong remains concerned about a repeat of the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak, although the mortality rate of the new virus is much lower than that of SARS, which was around 9.6%.

There have been massive queues for masks which are in short supply and are selling at inflated prices.

Separately, the Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific is asking 27,000 staff to take three weeks unpaid leave over the coming months as it deals with the impact of the outbreak.

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Typhoon Soulik has hit Taiwan, bringing strong winds and torrential rain to the island.

So far one person is reported to have died while 21 have been injured in the extreme weather.

More than 8,500 people have been evacuated from mountainous and other dangerous areas and thousands of soldiers have been deployed.

Typhoon Soulik is set to arrive in mainland China’s eastern provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang later on Saturday.

Local authorities there have been asked to implement emergency response plans, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua reported, after recent torrential rain across large parts of the country reportedly left 200 people dead or missing.

Typhoon Soulik, a medium-force typhoon, had wind speeds of around 100 mph on Saturday morning.

It made landfall at around 03:00 local time on Saturday, Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau reported.

A police officer was killed by falling bricks but other people suffered mostly light injuries, including from fallen trees or being blown off their scooters.

Typhoon Soulik has hit Taiwan, bringing strong winds and torrential rain to the island

Typhoon Soulik has hit Taiwan, bringing strong winds and torrential rain to the island

The strong winds and heavy rain have caused electricity disruptions, a run on food and essential supplies in supermarkets, and uprooted trees and signs in some areas.

This typhoon is the first to hit Taiwan this year and there had been fears of major damage because the island was the first place it made landfall.

Nearly 50,000 soldiers have been put on standby.

Schools and offices in Taipei and several other cities had closed on Friday afternoon as the tropical storm neared.

Some flights to Taiwan have been disrupted, with both Cathay Pacific and China Airlines announcing cancellations.

Precautionary measures have been taken to close the roads and bridges along areas most susceptible to disaster, officials said.

Fishing boats had been returned to the shore before the typhoon hit, and members of the public were urged to avoid mountain and coastal areas.

Evacuated residents – including 3,000 from Kaohsiung city and 2,000 from Pingtung county in the south of Taiwan – have been taken to local government buildings that have been turned into shelters, AFP reported.

More than 2,000 tourists had earlier been evacuated from Taiwan’s Green Island, near the city of Taitung, as a precaution.

Typhoons are common during the summer in parts of East Asia, where the warm moist air and low pressure conditions enable tropical cyclones to form.

In 2009, Taiwan was hit by Typhoon Morakot, which left hundreds dead in floods and mudslides.

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