Over 500 Back In Hong Kong After Last Hubei Flight

Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Secretary Patrick Nip says nearly 560 Hong Kong residents have been flown back on four government chartered flights from Hubei province this week.

Speaking on Thursday night after the landing of the fourth flight, Nip said two people had pulled out at the last minute, while three others couldn't pass temperature checks prior to boarding.

This leaves around 3,000 Hong Kong residents, who had earlier sought help from the government, still stuck in the former epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Nip says the government will monitor the easing of the lockdown measures in the province to decide how to help them. He also defended the government's home quarantine order for the returnees, saying the requirement was based on risk assessments that the coronavirus situation on the mainland had improved significantly.