Can't really defend the quarantine violation of the Cathay flight attendants. They knew the rules but broke them anyway. Maybe they thought they would test negative. Maybe they thought there was no risk of transmission. Whichever the case, they got to face the music now.
That being said, would this not accelerate the departure of CX employees from the airline? Not that CX need any more employees given the dire situation they are in, but even so, even the limited flight operations they are in engaged now do require pilots and flight attendants. At some point, would CX find themselves with insufficient employees to maintain even the severely restricted flights they are engaged in now?
Not that the authorities would care if CX goes under, but setting up a whole new airline in HK to replace CX will take time...I guess they haven't thought about that...