HONG KONG – Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Sunday said the effectiveness of Hong Kong’s containment measures against the novel coronavirus outbreak have been reflected in the smaller number of confirmed cases than some other territories in the region.

The Hong Kong leader said on her social media account these measures were based on science and facts.

The fact that Hong Kong recorded fewer confirmed cases of coronavirus infection than South Korea, Japan and Singapore was a result of a joint effort by the community to overcome the specific challenges posed by Hong Kong’s proximity to the mainland and its status as a free and densely-populated port, she said.

Lam thanked the frontline medical workers, quarantine officers and the panel of health experts, including leading microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung, former WHO officer Keiji Fukuda, professor Hui Shu-cheong from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and professor Gabriel Matthew Leung from the University of Hong Kong.

In addition, the government has strengthened its immigration and quarantine measures to minimize the risk of importation of the pathogen from other places, she pointed out.

She also said that details of arrangement to bring back Hong Kong residents stranded in Hubei province on charter flights will be announced in a few days.