Why Hong Kong doesn't have far more confirmed Covid-19 cases than Singapore

A man wearing a protective face mask, walking on a street in the central business district in Hong Kong on Feb 12, 2020. - AP

HONG KONG (The Straits Times/ANN): You'd have thought the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Hong Kong should long have exceeded those in Singapore, and by far more.

After all, the city has 13 border crossings with mainland China, where the virus - officially named Covid-19 - is thought to have originated, and three remain open. Singapore, in contrast, is more than 3,500km away and has closed its borders to all new visitors from China since Feb 1.