Hong Kong party: dozens of politicians in Covid quarantine

An embarrassing affair for the Hong Kong government which is pursuing a draconian policy against the Covid.

170 senior Hong Kong officials were sent to a quarantine camp on Friday after rubbing shoulders with people infected with Covid during a party that brought together a large part of the city's political elite, according to the authorities.

"Everyone present at the party should be quarantined," Hong Kong health official Chuang Shuk Kwan said.

Among them are Home Affairs Minister Caspar Tsui, heads of police, immigration and anti-corruption agencies, as well as nineteen members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council.

Among those set to spend 21-days at Penny's Bay are top security officials including police chief Raymond Siu, immigration chief Au Ka-wang, and anti-corruption watchdog chief Simon Peh. Https://t.co/Qt9uhGkx6T pic.twitter. com / yZekaXCicU

- Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) January 7, 2022

All participated Monday evening in the birthday party of a Chinese dignitary, Whitman Hung, in a tapas bar in the district of Wan Chai. Hung was himself sent to this camp: representing Hong Kong at the National People's Congress in Beijing, he was photographed singing into a microphone, placing his hand on the shoulder of a young woman, without being able to see him. 'neither of them wears a mask. Two guests were then tested positive for Covid and the authorities decided to isolate all those present in the austere center of Penny's Bay.

At the time of the holiday, the authorities had advised the population to avoid gatherings.

Three days later, the Hong Kong government announced a drastic tightening of the distancing rules, including, as of this Friday evening, the closure of bars and gymnasiums, and the ban on eating in restaurants after 6 p.m. .

The quarantine is to last 21 days.

The Legislative Council, responsible for passing laws in Hong Kong territory, is due to hold its inaugural session next Wednesday.

The 90 seats of the “LegCo” were renewed on December 19.

Under new rules imposed by Beijing, only “patriotic” candidates were allowed to run for 20 seats subject to universal suffrage.

Hong Kong counted 33 confirmed cases on Thursday.

The total number of infected patients has almost doubled every week for the past month, due to an increase in imported cases.