By Farah Master
HONG&nbsp;KONG&nbsp;(Reuters) -Hong&nbsp;Kong&nbsp;will drop its&nbsp;COVID-19&nbsp;mask&nbsp;mandate, chief executive John Lee said on Tuesday, in a move to lure back visitors and business and restore normal life more than three years after stringent rules were first imposed in the financial hub.
The measure will take effect&nbsp;from&nbsp;Wednesday, Lee told a press briefing. The special administrative region of&nbsp;Hong&nbsp;Kong&nbsp;is one of the last places globally that still imposes a&nbsp;mask&nbsp;mandate.
Hong&nbsp;Kong&nbsp;and Macau both followed China's zero-COVID&nbsp;policy for much of the past three years.&nbsp;Hong&nbsp;Kong&nbsp;started unwinding its stringent&nbsp;COVID&nbsp;rules last year but&nbsp;mask-wearing has remained constant since 2020.
"We think this is the best timing to make this decision. It is a clear message to show&nbsp;Hong&nbsp;Kong&nbsp;is resuming normalcy," Lee said.
In high risk places such as hospitals, administrators can decide whether to require staff and visitors to wear&nbsp;masks, he said.
Neighbouring special administrative region Macau, said on Feb 26 that it would drop&nbsp;COVID&nbsp;19-related&nbsp;mask&nbsp;requirements for most locations, except for public transportation, hospitals and a handful of other areas.
In mainland China residents are not required to wear&nbsp;masks outdoors, although authorities encourage them to do so in public indoor areas such as airports and train stations.
Hong&nbsp;Kong's move to&nbsp;scrap&nbsp;masks comes after its government this month launched a promotional campaign called "Hello&nbsp;Hong&nbsp;Kong" to bring back tourists and businesses which have steered clear of the former British colony since 2020.
Hong&nbsp;Kong&nbsp;had stuck rigidly to its&nbsp;mask&nbsp;rule, even in schools where children as young as 2 years old were&nbsp;mandated to wear them outside their homes. Many students and teachers have been concerned about the impact on learning and child development.
Students are still&nbsp;mandated to take daily rapid antigen tests to check for&nbsp;COVID&nbsp;although authorities announced last week that this would be&nbsp;scrapped starting&nbsp;from&nbsp;March&nbsp;1 for secondary school students and primary schools and nurseries&nbsp;from&nbsp;March&nbsp;15.
Business groups, diplomats and many residents had slammed&nbsp;Hong&nbsp;Kong's&nbsp;COVID-19 rules, saying they threatened its competitiveness and standing as an international financial centre.
(Reporting by the&nbsp;Hong&nbsp;Kong&nbsp;newsroom; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Michael Perry)

you might like

Hong Kong to scrap COVID mask mandate from March 1