No more masks by April? Hong Kong finance chief raises hopes by saying city will drop unpopular Covid rule by ‘end of season’
- Financial Secretary Paul Chan takes questions on radio programme, but most callers focused on mask mandate instead of overall budget blueprint
- He admits similar views were raised during consultations on budget address
Hong Kong’s finance minister has raised high hopes of scrapping the city’s mask mandate, saying it could be lifted “at the end of the season” as the government has heard residents’ mounting calls for the last major Covid-19 restriction to be axed as soon as possible.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po was on Friday addressing his latest budget blueprint on government radio, but most callers were fixated on the mask measure. The city has extended the mandate for another two weeks until March 8.
A source familiar with the matter said Chan was referring to the end of March.
“This policy is still there on health grounds. My colleagues in the Health Bureau have been given [a] very clear message as to the community aspiration to take off masks as quickly as possible. This is high on their agenda,” the finance chief said. “My health colleagues [are] monitoring this very closely”.
One caller argued: “It’s very difficult to tell people and persuade [them] that we are a leading international centre when we are the last people on the planet to remove masks.”
Another brought up the question of tourism: “Imagine you and your family are travelling and looking at various locations in Asia, would you personally choose a country with a mask mandate to take your family to, against one that doesn’t?”
