A Hong Kong lawmaker who posed for a photo with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week during the leader's visit to the financial hub revealed on Sunday that he had tested positive for coronavirus.
Steven Ho, a 42-year-old member of Hong Kong's biggest pro-Beijing party who sits in the city's rubber stamp legislature, was one of about 100 officials allowed close contact with Xi for a photo call on Thursday afternoon.
As part of the city's 25th anniversary celebrations marking the transfer from Britain, Xi went to Hong Kong for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Based on photos provided by the administration, Ho was standing two rows behind Xi. He stated that the lawmaker tested negative on the first day of Xi's visit, Thursday, then gave an inconclusive result on Friday.
According to a statement he made on social media, he did not participate in any events on Friday following the suspicious test result.
"Due to its extremely low infectivity level, the sample from the morning of July 1 was labeled uncertain. I was unable to engage in any public events on that day for the sake of public safety," Ho said.
When Xi visited, Ho was the second DAB party member to test positive.
On Thursday, Tam Yiu-chung, Hong Kong's sole delegate to Beijing's highest legislative body, tested positive. He was therefore unable to attend any of the activities.
China is the only major economy that continues to pursue the Zero COVID-19 method of eradicating outbreaks as they happen through immediate lockdowns and thorough testing.
Xi has not left China in about 900 days, and the vast majority of foreigners are barred from entering the nation.
Zero COVID-19 is being eased in Hong Kong, although rigorous travel and collecting restrictions have remained in place throughout the pandemic.
During Xi's visit to the city, where a democratic movement has been suppressed since massive protests three years ago, extremely stringent measures were implemented to prevent the coronavirus and political opposition from entering his circles.
Hundreds of government officials, parliamentarians, and other invited guests were required to participate in a "closed-loop" anti-COVID-19 system, which included limiting their social interactions, undergoing daily PCR tests, and checking into a quarantine hotel in the days preceding the visit.
In order to prevent media from documenting official events during the visit, portions of the city had to be shut and prominent dissidents were placed under police surveillance.
