Editorial | Face the fact that time has come to finally end Hong Kong’s mask mandate
- Hong Kong’s pace of recovery from Covid-19 is being held back by the rule amid public frustration as neighbours go mainly mask-free
Hong Kong’s exit from the coronavirus crisis will not be complete as long as the mask mandate is still in force. Pivotal in curbing wider outbreaks over the past three years, the rule is still being kept as the last line of defence by the local health authorities in a slow and long journey back to post-Covid normality.
But while officials think they have valid reasons to stand by the requirement, the pace of recovery is being held back.
It was hardly coincidental that Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po was bombarded with calls to lift the mandate during a post-budget radio phone-in session last week.
One caller said instead of trying to cheer up the public with gourmet marketplaces and carnivals, officials could simply ditch the mask rule. And it was free, he said. Another caller expressed doubts over whether tourists would choose to visit Hong Kong over mask-free locations.
Such remarks speak volumes not only of the city’s growing impatience with the remaining Covid restriction, but also its negative impact on tourism and economic recovery.
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Exactly when the mask-free era may begin remains unclear at this stage. The measure has just been extended to at least March 8, making the rule – already enforced for some 1,000 days – one of the longest in the world. Chan’s suggestion that it may be lifted “at the end of the season” means the public may well have to endure for a few more weeks.