By
Daisy CL Mandap
 |
| CE Lam says she is disappointed with her officials who attended the banquet |
Chief Executive Carrie Lam has said in an unscheduled
press briefing Thursday that Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui will be
sent to Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre after being identified as a close contact
of a guest at a banquet who has tested preliminary positive for Covid-19.
A stern-looking Mrs Lam also revealed that at least 10
of her senior officials had joined Tsui at the event where about 100 people were present.
Among the other officials she mentioned were financial
services chief Christopher Hui, police commissioner Raymond Siu, ICAC head
Simon Peh and Director of Immigration Au Ka-wang.
 |
| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
The Development Bureau confirmed later on Thursday
night that its political assistant, Allen Fung, was also identified as a close
contact and will be sent to the quarantine centre.
The CE said she was “highly disappointed” that so many
officials had attended a large-scale gathering amid the pandemic.
"I am in particular disappointed with the home
affairs secretary, Caspar Tsui," she said.
 |
| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
"They should not be engaged in activities which
will carry risks and create more work for the CHP (Centre for Health
Protection) and make things more complicated.”
She added the Civil Service Bureau was contacting
other civil servants to see if they had been to the event.
 |
| Pindutin para sa detalye |
After her statement Tsui and
Fung both apologized over the incident in separate statements on social media, and
said they were taking full responsibility.
 |
| The event was hosted by NPC delegate Witman Hung (RTHK File) |
The host of the banquet, Witman Hung a local delegate to the National People’s Congress, also said sorry through a Facebook post, adding his guests were all vaccinated and had used the LeaveHomeSafe app.
Hung said the guest who
tested preliminary positive didn't eat at the event, and she was there between
9.30pm and 10.15pm when most guests had already left.
 |
| Pindutin para sa detalye |
Reports said the party which was
held at a restaurant in Wanchai, was held to celebrate Hung’s birthday.
In response to a question on
why she was disappointed with her officials who had attended the event, she
pointed out that the occasion was held in the evening of Jan 3, days after she
had warned people about the possible spread of the Omicron variant in the
community.HOW? PINDUTIN ANG AD
“And very specifically,
the Secretary for Food and Health held a press conference on New Year's Eve,
December 31, after a meeting I chaired. She came out to explain the situation
that we were in, and she said that she wanted to give four pieces of advice to
the people of Hong Kong,” she said.
“One of the pieces of
advice is to avoid mass gatherings, and also to avoid taking off your mask and
avoid taking photos without mask on when you were on such an occasion. My
colleagues, apparently, have not taken the advice of the Secretary for Food and
Health, how could they set a good example for the people of Hong Kong?”
 |
| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
However, she said a
distinction should be drawn between those who spent the whole night at the
event and thus put themselves in a highly risky situation that require them to
be quarantined, and those who just dropped by to say hello and greet the host.
The CE said officials who
were at the function would be asked to show proof that they had left the venue
before 9:30pm so they would not be deemed as possible close contacts of the
infected guest.
She mentioned entries in
the LeaveHomeSafe app and testimonies from the officials’ chauffeurs as
possible proof of the time of their stay at the venue, which other reports said
was a restaurant in Wanchai.
 |
| PADALA NA! |
