Advertisement
Coronavirus Hong Kong
OpinionLetters

Letters | Time for Hong Kong to give people a choice on masks

  • Readers discuss the wisdom of the city’s rules on mask-wearing, and how the pandemic has changed human relationships

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
8
People wearing masks walk through a tunnel of orchids at the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens in Central on January 28. Photo: Dickson Lee
Letters
Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at [email protected] or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification.

It never ceases to amaze me to see people putting on their mask when going outdoors and removing it indoors at home, and in the office, restaurants and bars, when outdoors is a significantly lower-risk setting for Covid-19 transmission compared to indoors.

While virus transmission does occur outdoors, especially among people in proximity, the costs and benefits of a mandatory mask-wearing policy warrant examination.

Advertisement
The Hong Kong government recently scrapped mandatory isolation for those who have tested positive for the coronavirus, a decision made on the basis of a “very sound barrier of immunity”, which I understand to be due to both the high vaccination rate and a large number of people already having contracted the virus in the past.

Therefore, I wonder, how sound is it to keep the mask mandate, especially when Hong Kong has already started its global campaign to reaffirm itself as an international business hub?

Advertisement
Most jurisdictions currently take the approach of only applying mask mandates on public transport and health facilities, but trust individuals and companies to make their own decisions otherwise. Moreover, if masks were really that effective, how could one explain the widespread outbreak in March last year in Hong Kong?

Finally, there is the pollution angle. Single-use masks contain plastic that can take hundreds of years to break down. A study published in 2021 found mask mandates caused the amount of litter classified as “mask” to go from zero to 6 per cent. That should give Hong Kong, which aims to become more environment-friendly, pause.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x