Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu has tested positive for Covid-19 after returning from a trip to Thailand for a high-level regional trade summit.
The government on Monday said Lee's polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result was positive at Hong Kong International Airport upon arrival on Sunday night after he attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Bangkok. His flight landed at 9.30pm.
"He is now being isolated in accordance with the guidelines of the Centre for Health Protection [CHP] of the Department of Health," a government spokesman said. "His rapid antigen tests conducted during his four-day visit to Bangkok were negative."
The spokesman said Lee would work from home and attend video meetings if necessary.
Staff from the Chief Executive's Office who accompanied Lee on his trip all tested negative at the airport and would work from home until the CHP had completed its assessment on whether they were close contacts.
Lee headed to Bangkok on Thursday and later went out for breakfast and shopping. The summit began on Friday and ended on Saturday.
The arrangements for the summit had him seated next to Chinese President Xi Jinping during the closed-door sessions where they both took off their masks. However, no one-to-one meeting was arranged between them.
He also sat next to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and met Chinese ambassador to Thailand Han Zhiqiang twice during his trip.
Lee also met Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and leaders such as Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Themed "Balanced, Inclusive and Sustainable Growth", the regional forum featured more than 20 economies and was Lee's first overseas trip since taking office as chief executive in July.
