Coronavirus: put a surgical mask on, Hong Kong welfare chief Law Chi-kwong told
- Law said he had driven to work and avoided crowds, and so saw no need to don the face covering
- But a leading disease expert says he should be wearing one because of the common areas he has to use at government headquarters
Hong Kong’s labour and welfare minister has been told to join the rest of the coronavirus-hit city in donning a surgical mask, after saying on Sunday he had not done so for 22 days.
Law Chi-kwong said he had driven to work and avoided crowded places, and so had not needed a mask. But he was quickly rebuked by a local authority on infectious diseases.
Writing on his blog, Law said he had been attending meetings every day at government headquarters over the previous 22 days, to discuss the city’s fight against the deadly virus, which causes Covid-19 and had by Sunday infected 57 people locally.
“Most of my colleagues at the Labour and Welfare Bureau have been working from home these days. But they still have to come back for meetings when necessary. For me, apart from attending meetings, most of the time I was in my office alone,” he wrote.
“I haven’t been to any crowded places over the past 22 days. I have been driving to the government headquarters myself and have not used public transport. I haven’t used a single face mask and thus, I was in a way saving the masks for those who needed them.”