Hong Kong scraps COVID-19 mask mandate after almost 1,000 days
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- 28 Feb 2023
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Chinese territory hopes the relaxation of its last coronavirus measures will lure back visitors and boost business.
Hong Kong will scrap its mask mandate on March 1, Chief Executive John Lee has announced, ending the territory’s last major coronavirus measure after nearly 1,000 days.
Hong Kong followed China’s zero-COVID policy for much of the pandemic but began unwinding the stringent COVID rules last year.
It hopes that the relaxation of COVID-19 curbs will lure back visitors and kick-start business.
“We think this is the best timing to make this decision. It is a clear message to show Hong Kong is resuming normalcy,” Lee said.
In high-risk places such as hospitals, administrators can decide whether to require staff and visitors to wear masks, he added.
Hong Kong was one of the last places in the world to require face coverings in nearly all public settings — indoors and outdoors — with everyone over the age of two required to wear a mask or risk a fine of as much as 10,000 Hong Kong dollars ($1,275). Read More…
