{"id":61746,"date":"2020-02-12T15:19:32","date_gmt":"2020-02-12T07:19:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=61746"},"modified":"2020-02-12T15:19:34","modified_gmt":"2020-02-12T07:19:34","slug":"us-authorises-hong-kong-staff-to-leave-over-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=61746","title":{"rendered":"US authorises Hong Kong staff to leave over Covid-19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.hongkongfp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/HK_US_Consulate_General.jpg\" alt=\"Hong Kong US Consulate General Embassy\" class=\"wp-image-126581\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:center\">US Consulate General, Hong Kong<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) &#8212;\u00a0The United States said it had authorised consulate staff to leave Hong Kong as concerns spread over the Covid-19 that originated in mainland China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Non-essential staff and their family members will be allowed, but not required, to leave the metropolis &#8220;out of an abundance of caution related to uncertainties&#8221; on the coronavirus, a State Department spokesperson said Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The US consulate in Hong Kong will remain open, the State Department said. The consulate last year became a focal point for some of the protesters who took to the streets in major demonstrations aimed at preserving Hong Kong&#8217;s freedoms from Beijing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The staff move marks the expansion of the State Department&#8217;s voluntary departures beyond mainland China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The State Department last month issued similar notices for staff in Chinese cities including Beijing and Shanghai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It has mandated the departure of consular employees in Wuhan, where the virus broke out late last year, apparently at a market selling exotic animals for consumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hong Kong has\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.channelnewsasia.com\/news\/wuhan-virus-hong-kong-death-china-infection-toll-12388372\" target=\"_blank\">reported one death from the coronavirus<\/a>\u00a0which has killed more than 1,000 people in the mainland, mostly in and around Wuhan. &#8212; NNN-AGENCIES<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US Consulate General, Hong Kong WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) &#8212;\u00a0The United States said it had authorised consulate staff to leave Hong Kong as concerns spread over the Covid-19 that originated in mainland China. Non-essential staff and their family members will be allowed, but not required, to leave the metropolis &#8220;out of an abundance of caution [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[208,215],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61746"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61746\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}