Hong Kong declared a state of emergency and shuttered schools across the region as the world continues to grapple with the spreading coronavirus.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam held a meeting on Saturday with health officials and announced that all primary and secondary schools will be closed for at least two weeks.
The move comes as residents celebrate the one-week Lunar New Year. Hong Kong has also requested that universities extend the vacation given the threat from the virus, which has spread to five people in Hong Kong and ballooned to over 1,300 cases worldwide. At least 41 people have died from the contagion, which does not yet have a vaccine.
Hong Kong also canceled a marathon that about 70,000 people were expected to participate in on Feb. 9.
The United States is organizing a charter flight to evacuate diplomats and citizens from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus outbreak originated. Also Saturday, A Chinese doctor treating patients with coronavirus died after he contracted the virus while caring for patients.
The virus has reached the U.S., with cases in both Washington state and Illinois. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday that four people have been isolated and are being tested for the strain of coronavirus, which can spread through human-to-human contact.
