By Marius Zaharia and Donny Kwok HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam defended herself against criticism on Tuesday by saying she appears for newsconferences without a face mask so that people could see how “solemn” she was when talking about the coronavirus outbreak. A surge in locally transmitted infections with the Omicron and Delta variants of COVID-19 this year have led to the imposition restrictions that have made the global financial hub one of the most isolated major cities in the world. Lam has been criticised on social media and by some health experts for not wearing a m…