HK officials sorry for hurting pandemic control measures

Hong Kong political figures who attended a private banquet with a COVID-positive guest in the middle of a looming Omicron outbreak apologized for burdening the city's pandemic control and said they will now be extra cautious.

Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui Ying-wai, Director of Immigration Au Ka-wang, and Political Assistant to Secretary for Development Allen Fung Ying Lun apologized for attending the private party held in Wan Chai on Monday for the birthday of Witman Hung Wai-man, principal liaison officer for Hong Kong at the Shenzhen Qianhai Authority.

Together with Hung, the political figures asked to quarantine for 21 days at Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre said they have taken a good lesson from it and will have a deep reflection.

Over 100 guests, including at least nine other government officials and 19 lawmakers, showed up at the party. And four attending lawmakers - Rock Chen Chung-nin, Duncan Chiu Tat-kun, and Benson Luk Hon-man and Wendy Hong Wen - were also sent to the quarantine center in the wake of the incident.

Meeting the press on Thursday, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor expressed her "deep disappointment" about officials, particularly Tsui, for attending the private banquet when the city is trying to stamp out the highly contagious Omicron mutant strain outbreak.

In addition, lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen said that Tsui and him, together with other colleagues, had lunch on Tuesday. Tik added that his colleagues and he are waiting for the test results, and urged the government to unveil more details about the incident.

Respiratory disease expert Leung Chi-chiu noted the coming two weeks are critical to quell the Omicron outbreak and urged all residents to stay at home as much as possible.

Leung said that wearing masks and the government's ban on indoor dining after 6 pm are not sufficient enough as the mutant strain is highly contagious and can be transmitted easily.