Hong Kong to isolate 1,000 people before any Xi visit

Bloomberg

Hong Kong is preparing to cocoon some 1,000 people involved in the city’s July 1 handover anniversary, fueling speculation that Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the celebrations.
Security staff, including police officers protecting a “very, very important person,” will enter the closed-loop system in readiness for hosting an unspecified Chinese state leader, the South China Morning Post reported.
Logistics were still being finalised but one option under consideration was sending all those involved into hotel quarantine for seven days before the event, with regular Covid testing, the newspaper said. The list of individuals required to isolate was likely to grow in the coming weeks, potentially also covering ceremony attendees.
The Post reported earlier this week that Chief Executive Carrie Lam and other top Hong Kong officials — including her incoming replacement John Lee — were preparing to enter the closed loop. That system would prevent officials from meeting “outsiders” and require them to live apart from their families, according to the newspaper, which said officials had been informed a month ago.
China has used closed-loop systems to ensure key events go ahead with minimum infection risk as the country sticks to its Covid Zero policy. Similar protocols were used this year for the Beijing Winter Olympics and the National People’s Congress.
Xi’s attendance on July 1 would mark his first trip outside mainland China since January 2020.