Hong Kong Officials Among Group Quarantined After COVID Exposure at Birthday Party

Two people tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a birthday party with over 150 people, requiring several Hong Kong officials and lawmakers to go into quarantine on Friday. Health authorities said that roughly 170 guests who were at the party would be considered as close contact to the two people who tested positive. Everyone who was at the party, including nine government officials and roughly 20 lawmakers, must undergo mandatory quarantine at a government facility.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said she was disappointed in the officials who attended the large event and they weren't setting a good example for the rest of the public as the country struggles with an outbreak of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

Authorities reported 33 cases of COVID-19 in Hong Kong on Friday. Other areas of China are dealing with a higher surge of COVID-19 cases and remain under lockdown under a "zero-COVID strategy." The city of Xi'an with 13 million people has been on lockdown since the end of December and more recently the city of Yuzhou with 1.2 million people was locked down Thursday after an increase in cases.

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