Only China Terrified of Covid-19

The Queen made her final journey to Windsor Castle

Queen Elizabeth II was finally laid to rest today, but not before a funeral full of tradition, ceremony and meaning.

Numerous heads of state were invited, and the only person wearing a mask at Westminster Abbey was Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan -- complete with a Chinese flag on it for branding purposes.

It was also a metaphor for how much China is an outlier compared to the rest of the world when it comes to Covid-19.

Wang (centre) wearing a mask at the funeral

And people within the country are angry after a bus in Guiyang, Guizhou province, carrying people who tested positive, was involved in a motor vehicle accident, killing 27 of those passengers and injuring 20. on Sunday. 

They were being bussed at 2am to a remote quarantine centre 260km from Guiyang, the capital.

It wasn't Covid that killed them, but an accident.

CNN even pointed out a picture of someone in a hazmat suit spraying the crumpled heap that was the bus with disinfectant afterwards.

Guiyang vice-mayor Lin Gang apologised on Sunday night, but did not elaborate on the government's role in the crash, or what the apology was for.

Instead he said the government would "inspect safety risks in transporting people to quarantine" as well as investigate the cause of the incident.

The crushed bus that left 27 passengers dead

But the apology and the suspension of three officials was not enough to quell the anger fomenting online. There were more than 69,000 comments on social media after 24 hours of the crash, and related topics on Weibo were viewed more than 400 million times.

The level of social media engagement is similar to when Dr Li Wenliang, the doctor who warned about Covid-19, died in February 2020.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, things are starting to look up. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu suggested the city should have an "orderly" approach to opening up, and there were indications hotel quarantine will end soon, but people arriving will have to self-monitor at home for seven days.

"I'm conscious of the fact that while we need to control the spread of Covid, we also need to ensure that there will be maximum activities... and economic activities for society to carry on," Lee said.

Lee strongly hints hotel quarantine over soon

"I am also conscious of the need to maintain Hong Kong's competitiveness by ensuring that we have good connectivity."

Finally Lee's pleas are being heard by Beijing, after several major sporting events were cancelled. 

The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon was cancelled for November 20 but now organisers have announced it will be held in February, though no word on how many can participate.

Covid-19 has taken a terrible toll on Hong Kong's economy, with financial secretary Paul Chan Mo Po projecting a potential budget deficit of more than HK$100 billion (US$12.7 billion). All that taxpayer money going down the drain all for "dynamic zero-Covid"...