Hong Kong orders roughly 170 people to quarantine after positive tests at birthday party

Hong Kong officials ordered roughly 170 people to quarantine after two people tested positive for COVID-19 during a birthday party earlier this month.

Close to 20 lawmakers and nine government officials were among the approximately 170 people who attended a birthday party on Jan. 3, according to The Associated Press. The birthday party was for Shenzhen Qianhai Authority official Witman Hung, local media reports noted, the news wire added.

All of the attendees were ordered to go to a government facility to quarantine on Friday after they were deemed close contacts of the two people who tested positive. 

“We now think that every person who had gone to the party is now a close contact. Therefore, our quarantine work is specifically aimed at the people who have attended the party,” said Chuang Shuk-kwan, who leads the Center for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, according to the AP.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said that government officials were not setting good examples for others by attending the party as the city and other parts of the world grapple with the highly transmissible omicron variant.

In an effort to curb further spread of COVID-19, certain businesses such as gyms and museums have been forced to close for two weeks in Hong Kong and indoor dining after 6 p.m. has been banned for now, the AP reported. 

According to government data, 74 percent of the total population has received their first vaccine dose while roughly 70 percent has received two doses. More than 493,000 residents have also received a booster shot.