Hong Kong may end outdoor mask rule, relax Covid tests: report

HONG Kong is considering scrapping its outdoor mask mandate as part of a suite of major relaxations in the city’s Covid rules, pro-China newspaper Wen Wei Po reported.

Other measures being considered include using rapid-antigen tests to replace the two PCR tests currently required for inbound travellers, and the Hospital Authority may explore relaxing discharge criteria for patients, it reported on Thursday (Dec 8), citing people it didn’t identify. Representatives from the Health Department and the Hong Kong government didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by Bloomberg News.

Hong Kong implemented an outdoor mask mandate in July 2020, on top of rules requiring one in a raft of indoor public venues. People who don’t wear a mask face a HK$5,000 (S$871) fixed penalty or as much as HK$10,000 if they’re found guilty in court.

The move would be the biggest relaxation to virus rules since Hong Kong scrapped hotel quarantine for inbound travellers in September in an effort to revive its standing as a global financial centre. If enacted, the changes would follow a substantial easing of Covid Zero curbs in mainland China this week, reflecting pressure on President Xi Jinping to chart a path out of the crisis and quell public discontent.

Hong Kong stocks gained on optimism about a fuller reopening for the city. The Hang Seng Index rose as much as 2.1 per cent, partly reversing Wednesday’s selloff, while a separate gauge of Chinese stocks trading in the city jumped more than 2 per cent. A Bloomberg gauge of Macau casino shares rallied as much as 8.2 per cent.

While Hong Kong has dismantled some of its toughest Covid rules this year, it still maintains a raft of measures that make it a global outlier. Inbound travellers are banned for the first three days after their entry from dining in at restaurants or going to bars.

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And rules can sometimes be conflicting: patrons of bars need to show proof of a negative rapid test to be allowed in, but no such requirement exists for restaurants. As many as 240 people are permitted to attend a banquet, yet outdoor gatherings are limited to 12.

The ongoing restrictions have seen Hong Kong struggle to attract visitors and the city’s economy has been battered by almost three years of isolation. The government expects the gross domestic product to fall 3.2 per cent for all of 2022, which would be the city’s third contraction in four years. BLOOMBERG