Hong Kong leader ‘cautiously confident’ city will get through coronavirus

Hong Kong Leader Carrie Lam reportedly said Thursday the city is prepared to deal with the mysterious coronavirus that originated in mainland China. 

Lam said she is “cautiously confident” the city will get through the outbreak at Davos during the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, Reuters reports. 

Hong Kong confirmed its first case of the flu-like virus on Wednesday. 

“Hong Kong has learned from the past,” Lam said at Davos, according to CNBC. 

“We have paid a huge price for this deadly disease that we encountered 17 years ago and since then we built a robust and resilient system,” she added. 

Lam reportedly said she is “cautiously confident that the system we have built” will take Hong Kong “out of this current problem.” 

Hong Kong saw an outbreak of SARS in 2003, which killed hundreds. 

The coronavirus outbreak, originating in Wuhan, has reportedly killed 18 people in mainland China. 

The World Health Organization declared Thursday it is not yet a global public health emergency. 

The Senate will hold a hearing with top federal health officials on Friday over the outbreak. 

The first case in the U.S. was reported Tuesday in Washington state.