Had A Chance To Meet Chinese President Xi Jinping: Hong Kong Politicians Tested Positive For COVID-19 And Immediately Quarantined

Presiden China Xi Jinping. (Wikimedia Commons/Presidential Press and Information Office)

JAKARTA - Having met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a Hong Kong politician announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 two days after meeting the oath-taking of Hong Kong's new leader last week.

Steven Ho, who is part of the city's largest pro-Beijing party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Advancement of Hong Kong (DAB), tested positive for the coronavirus on July 2 and has been self-isolating, according to an announcement on his Facebook page. on Sunday.

Ho said he tested negative for the virus on June 30, the day he was shown in a photo with Xi, which was featured by local broadcaster RTHK.

President Xi was in Hong Kong to mark the anniversary of the territory's 25th handover to the mainland from Britain, as well as taking the oath of office for the city's new leader John Lee.

At Lee's swearing-in ceremony, all officials, including President Xi, wore masks and did not shake hands. For the sake of celebrating and visiting President Xi this time, the police have warned of all acts of violence and public disturbance. More than 30,000 troops were deployed to provide security.

In addition, police sealed off parts of Hong Kong, blocked roads and imposed a no-fly zone over Victoria Harbour. In fact, John Lee and Carrie Lam (the Hong Kong leader Lee replaced) stayed in a quarantine hotel and underwent a COVID-19 test days before President Xi's arrival.

As previously reported, the visit was President Xi Jinping's first public trip outside mainland China since the coronavirus pandemic began.

President Xi's visit to Hong Kong is his first since 2017, when he took the oath of former leader Carrie Lam and spent the night in the city during his trip.

But during last week's visit, he came to Hong Kong on Thursday and Friday, but stayed overnight in the Shenzhen (Mainland China) area. His whereabouts this time, and the reason why he chose Shenzhen, have not been officially confirmed.

China is adhering to a 'zero COVID' policy which aims to eradicate all outbreaks, at any cost, which goes against the global trend of trying to coexist with the virus.