This undated photo shows a medical worker at Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province. (Tao Jidong / chinadaily.com.cn)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong will deny entry indefinitely to residents of Hubei province and those who have been to the province in the past 14 days beginning Jan 27, the Hong Kong government announced late Sunday night.

Hong Kong residents will be exempted from the new arrangement

Hong Kong residents will be exempted from the new arrangement.

READ MORE: HK confirms 8 now infected with novel coronavirus

The measure was announced in response to the escalation in the novel coronavirus outbreak, which originated in Wuhan, in central China's Hubei province.

On Saturday, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor raised the government's response level to outbreak to "emergency" and revealed a package of measures.