The Latest: Hong Kong begins quarantining mainland arrivals

BEIJING (AP) — The Latest on a virus outbreak that began in China (all times local):

7 p.m.

Hong Kong has quarantined 161 people who arrived from mainland China on Saturday as a new emergency measure to stem the spread of the virus begins.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said nearly 90% of those quarantined are Hong Kong citizens. She said 148 are confined at home, 11 at hotels and two at quarantine camps.

The international financial hub has shut many border checkpoints but refused to completely seal its border because it relies on mainland China for food and other goods. It instead imposed a 14-day quarantine starting Saturday on all people arriving from mainland China to dissuade cross-border travel. Workers in logistic services such as truck drivers and flight crews are exempted.

Lam warned Saturday that random checks will be conducted and those who violate the quarantine will face up to six months in jail and a fine.

Meanwhile, health authorities said they would test over 1,800 crew members on the World Dream cruise ship for the virus. The ship has been under quarantine since Wednesday after eight mainland passengers on an earlier voyage tested positive for the virus. Tests on more than 30 crew members and passengers who showed symptoms have been negative so far.

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5 p.m.

France has confirmed five additional cases of the new virus spreading from China, including one child.

The announcement Saturday by Health Minister Agnes Buzyn brings the total number of people confirmed with the virus in France to 11.

The new cases were identified in the Alpine resort town of Contamines-Montjoie near Mont Blanc. Buzyn said they appear linked to a British person who stayed there in late January and was later confirmed to have the virus after returning to Britain.

French authorities are working with international partners to trace everyone who was in close contact with the British person and with the newly infected people in France.

The French government has brought hundreds of people from European and African countries back from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. Those who stayed in France are in quarantine.

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1:30 p.m.

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing says a 60-year-old American citizen diagnosed with the new virus died in Wuhan, apparently the first American fatality of the outbreak.

The embassy said in a brief statement Saturday that the American was confirmed to have been infected by the coronavirus and died at a hospital in Wuhan, the center of the outbreak. It said it would have no further comment out of respect for the family's privacy.

China announced that the death toll on the mainland increased to 722 on Saturday, including the American. It said 3,399 more people had been diagnosed with the virus over the last 24 hours, reversing two days of declines, raising the total number of cases on the mainland to 34,546.