Hong Kong vote postponed amid rising infections

Hong Kong will postpone the election of its next leader until May 8 as it grapples with a worsening coronavirus outbreak with thousands of new infections daily.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Friday the election will be delayed six weeks from March 27 because holding the polls as originally scheduled would pose “public health risks” even if a committee of only 1,462 people is involved.

Hong Kong’s leader is elected by a committee made up of legislators, representatives of various industries and professions, and pro-Beijing representatives such as Hong Kong deputies to the Chinese national parliament.

Several candidates including film producer Checkley Sin and Titus Wu, a former member of Hong Kong’s largest pro-establishment political party, have confirmed their intention to run. It is not clear if Lam will run for re-election.

Lam also said there were plans to test the entire city of Hong Kong for COVID-19, but denied that it would be put under a strict lockdown even as the city pursues a “zero COVID” approach.

“Mandatory testing and a complete city lockdown may not need to go hand in hand. It depends on the actual situation,” she said. “In our case, having examined the unique situation in Hong Kong, we’ll probably just go for universal testing of everyone.”

Health authorities said that the city’s hospitals were at 90% capacity and that its isolation facilities were full. Hong Kong’s daily new cases exceeded 2,000 for the first time on Monday. On Friday, more than 3,600 infections were reported.