The positive diagnosis for Covid-19 of a Hong Kong lawmaker two days after meeting with Xi Jinping has raised concerns about the health of the leader of the Chinese communist regime.
Steven Ho, a member of Hong Kong’s largest pro-Beijing party, tested positive on Saturday. He maintains, however, that the result had been negative when he was tested on Thursday (30), before standing two rows behind Xi for a session of photographs and greetings, all with masks.
The health of Xi, China’s most powerful leader in a generation, is among the country’s most sensitive issues, meaning there is little chance of comment on the incident from officials or the media. “I didn’t just say, ‘Hello, Chairman,’ I also said to Xi, ‘Thank you for your hard work, Chairman,'” Ho wrote on social media. “He nodded to me. It was very kind.”
The event, attended by more than 80 selected people, took place during Xi’s first trip outside mainland China in more than two years.
Xi made the two-day visit to Hong Kong to mark the 25th anniversary of the UK’s transfer to China and to swear in John Lee as its new chief executive.
The Chinese regime leader did not spend the night in Hong Kong due to the resurgence of Covid cases in the territory, choosing to travel back to Shenzhen and return to the special administrative region the next day. Hong Kong has reported around 2,000 cases a day.
Guests like Ho, who were scheduled to meet with Xi, were required to undergo daily coronavirus tests and hotel quarantine before the sessions. Ho added that he missed the inauguration ceremony on Friday (1st) after he received a result classified as “uncertain” for Covid.
But one person who attended the same session as Ho dismissed the health risks for those involved. “Maybe the photo looks close, but actually the spacing was too big,” he said. “And you weren’t allowed to take off your mask.”
Macau, the gambling hub next to Hong Kong, is also facing its worst coronavirus outbreak, with more than 850 cases reported in the last two weeks. The first two local deaths from Covid were recorded on Sunday. Local authorities did not rule out enacting a lockdown in the city and carried out a new round of mass tests this Monday.
Casino operators in the former Portuguese colony are burning through their cash reserves, and analysts expect to have “almost zero” revenue during the period. Although casinos were allowed to remain open, customer numbers plummeted and employees were told to stay indoors.
Disregarding these two regions, China reported 41 locally transmitted symptomatic cases of Covid-19 on Monday and 339 locally asymptomatic cases, which are classified separately. The total number of new cases more than doubled over the weekend to nearly 400, an increase of about 50 infections compared to mid-June.
The vast majority of cases are concentrated in Anhui and Jiangsu, two neighboring provinces of Shanghai. Local authorities have reinstated lockdowns in Lingbi, a municipality of more than 1 million people in northeast Anhui, and ordered a sixth round of mandatory testing for all residents of Si, another nearby municipality.
Covid cases in China have increased eightfold in the past two weeks, which runs counter to the Xi government’s attempts to ease draconian restrictions on travel and economic activity under the Chinese leader’s controversial zero Covid policy.
Last week, China halved the quarantine period for international travelers to one week, the first significant national relaxation of restrictions since waves of the omicron variant hit Shanghai and Beijing this year.
However, the challenge of completely eradicating the coronavirus is expected to increase with the arrival of more transmissible Covid subvariants. Health researchers last week warned of an increase in cases of the BA.4 and BA.5 variants.
