No More Compulsory Masks in Hong Kong After 959 Days

HONG KONG: Covid protocols may have become a distant memory for the citizens of many countries, but not for the residents of Hong Kong as it will become one of the last major cities across the world to finally let go of the restrictions on Wednesday.

The city has finally decided to let go of the compulsory wearing of masks in public places. The leader of the city John Lee made this announcement on Tuesday. The rule strictly enforced the wearing of masks, and failure to comply to which attracted a fine of $1000 to prevent the propagation of the virus.

Although the public had started wearing masks long back, the rule was enforced for public transport on July 15 2020. It was later extended to all outdoor and indoor public places later on which now completes 959 days since the imposition of the rule.

Hong Kong had seen the rolling back of some of the major constraints in the last few months. The most important among them was the roll-back of the compulsory quarantine for all international tourists on arrival to the city, which was accepted by the locals with open arms.

Health Secretary Lo Mau-chung mentioned that with the lifting of the mask mandate, “We have now removed all epidemic restrictions.” “I’m looking forward to seeing a smile on everyone’s face now,” he added. He also mentioned that the government still advises the wearing of masks in high-risk areas including hospitals and old age homes.

Hong Kong is known to have some of the strictest Covid protocols in the world. These included compulsory quarantine of all travellers coming in from other countries for periods up to 21 days. Local people also faced severe lockdown measures creating widespread distrust among the public. Several clashes between the public and the authorities had broken out in the last few years.

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