Health expert slams govt bias in allowing financial chief no quarantine despite being Covid positive

A health expert criticized the government's “inconsistency” in epidemic-prevention measures today, citing that the finance minister was exempted from quarantine when he returned to Hong Kong to attend the investment summit even though he tested positive via a nucleic acid screening.  

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po arrived in Hong Kong on Tuesday evening from his visit to the Middle East, where he was diagnosed with Covid-19 last week, for the global top-level financial summit yesterday.   

Chan tested positive for Covid upon his arrival in Hong Kong. However, the government revealed the finance chief would be considered a "recovered case" and waived from compulsory quarantine - denying he was being treated specially.  

Ho Pak-leung, the city’s leading microbiologist from the University of Hong Kong, said on a radio program today to slam the government upon Chan’s case as "failing to comply with a unified standard."

"Besides, some unnecessary screening measures toward new arrivals will hinder the process for society to resume," he added.

"It is inevitable for Hong Kong to abolish the entry curbs and convert to ‘0+0’,” Ho said, noting the amber health code system of Vaccine Pass should be scrapped as well.  

On the second day of the financial summit this morning, Paul Chan claimed he was not benefiting from “double standards.”  

He said he had declared the Covid history report to the government and got approval from the Department of Health to consider he was not "contagious."