Hong Kong postpones election of next chief executive due to coronavirus

The appointment of the next chief executive of Hong Konginitially scheduled for March, was postponed to May 8 due to the increase in cases of COVID-19 in the territory, the local government announced on Friday.

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“This situation is due to the fact that Hong Kong is facing the most serious situation since the pandemic began two years ago. It is a critical situation,” said the current chief executive of the city, Carrie Lam, at a press conference.

The chief executive of Hong Kong, a former British colony returned to China in 1997, is appointed by a select committee of people loyal to the Chinese government. The candidate nomination process is due to start on Sunday and it is not yet known whether Lam, who has led the city since 2017, will seek a second term.

Hong Kong is facing an exponential increase in covid-19 infections due to the highly contagious omicron variant, after registering just over 12,000 cases in the first two years of the pandemic thanks to harsh restrictions.

On Friday, more than 11,000 infections were registered in 24 hours, after 12,000 on Thursday, and the hospital system is totally overwhelmed.

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Source: Elcomercio

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