Travellers wearing face masks walk in the arrival hall at Hong Kong International Airport, Jan 23, 2020. (VIVEK PRAKASH / AFP)

HONG KONG – The number of visitors to Hong Kong has dropped by around 32 percent since the closure of six immigration checkpoints on Thursday as a precaution to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The total number of visitors fell to 160,923 on Thursday from 236,350 a day before, according to the Immigration Department.

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Among them, the number of arrivals from the Chinese mainland dropped by nearly 30 percent — from 27,780 on Wednesday to 19,555 on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong International Airport recorded an 8 percent increase in mainland arrivals, from 9,196 on Wednesday to 9,907 on Thursday.

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