Hong Kong, one of many final locations on the earth to impose tight Covid-19 restrictions on face coverings, will drop its masks mandate after greater than two and a half years.
John Lee, the Chinese language territory’s chief and former prime cop, mentioned necessities to put on a masks indoors, outdoor and on public transport can be scrapped from Wednesday. The masks mandate has been in place since July 2020.
“With the lifting of the masks mandate, we’ve got now formally eliminated all anti-epidemic restrictions. Hong Kong has absolutely returned to normalcy,” mentioned well being minister Lo Chung-mau. “We are able to all put a smile on our faces.”
Japan didn’t have a masks mandate however eased tips on masks sporting earlier in February.
Macau, one other Chinese language territory adjoining to Hong Kong, dropped its out of doors and indoor masks mandate on Monday, whereas Taiwan halted its indoor masks mandate in February, having earlier lifted an outside requirement on face coverings.
Hong Kong’s economic system was crippled after the town was compelled to observe China in imposing tight pandemic restrictions together with at factors a weeks lengthy quarantine and a ban on vacationers.
Together with a tricky safety crackdown which adopted 2019’s pro-democracy protests, the principles undermined the town’s standing as a monetary hub.
Lee mentioned the town would now try to rebuild. “We’ll give attention to our economic system and the town’s growth this yr and the following after resuming normalcy,” he mentioned on Tuesday.
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