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Jeffie Lam

Hongkongers will still be required to wear masks to visit hospitals and nursing homes even after the mandate for their use is lifted as the city returns to post-Covid normality, the health chief has said.
Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau on Saturday also insisted it was “absolutely necessary” to raise the tobacco tax, a move announced in the budget, and said that dropping the mask mandate would inevitably increase the city’s smoking rate.
Lo told a radio programme that masks had made it inconvenient for people to smoke and that they had cut cigarette use.
“Over the last three years, the masks have helped us not only by controlling Covid-19, but also in reducing the number of smokers,” he said.

He was speaking after the government announced that the mask-wearing requirement would be extended for another two weeks to March 8.
Lo stopped short of revealing when the mandate would be removed, but emphasised the requirement would stay in places where there were vulnerable people.
“We should not forget that the masks have helped us a lot [during the pandemic],” he said. “If there was no such protection, the death rate and the health system would be much worse.”
Hong Kong’s extended mask rule: good against flu, but what about children’s growth?
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Friday said the mask mandate could be dropped “at the end of the season” as the government had heeded appeals from the public to end the last major Covid-related restriction. A source familiar with the matter said Chan was referring to the end of March.
Lo said the administration was examining the situation and would make an announcement about the mandate later.
He added he believed people would continue to wear masks on a voluntary basis to protect themselves and others, even if the rule was lifted.
The health chief also appealed to the public to remain vigilant about personal hygiene and ventilation in restaurants and public places.
Lo highlighted that Covid-19 was still a threat and other viruses could emerge, despite the easing of the coronavirus pandemic.

He said an extra HK$12 (US$1.50) on the cost of a pack of cigarettes was needed to help lower the smoking rate from the present 9.5 per cent of the population to 7.8 per cent by 2025.
He added the present figures for the percentage of smokers might be an underestimate because it was calculated over the pandemic.
Lo added that the government would carry out a public consultation later this year to consider ways to make smoking “less attractive, less convenient”.
He said expansion of non-smoking areas, restrictions on smoking areas, making cigarette package design less appealing and the imposition of a lifetime tobacco ban for young people born in or after a particular year would all be looked at.
The health minister also doubled down on his dissatisfaction over an incident involving a surgical light that fell in an operating theatre at United Christian Hospital in Kowloon last weekend.
Lo, as a surgeon for nearly 40 years, said he could never have imagined something like that happening.
He said the Hospital Authority had a responsibility to investigate and demand that the manufacturer, a Swedish company, and the contractor provide a report on the event to help ensure a similar incident did not happen again.
“The authority would have to seriously consider whether it should trust this manufacturer and maintenance contractor,” Lo said. “I’m sure the authority will fulfil this responsibility to ensure that we have a safe working environment for our staff and also for our patients.”
The Department of Health on Saturday said it had asked the local supplier involved in the incident to submit an investigation report within four weeks.
A department spokesman added that apart from the surgical light in question, the manufacturer had found the problem might also affect three other models that used the same fixing means. He urged the supplier to follow up on the issue.


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Coronavirus: masks will still be required at hospitals, nursing homes even after mandate is dropped, Hong Kong’s health chief says

The city has extended its mask-wearing mandate for another two weeks until March 8. Photo: Jelly Tse

A care home for the elderly in Tsz Wan Shan. Photo: Sam Tsang

Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau says it is “absolutely necessary” to raise the tobacco tax. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Hong Kong is still masking up. Here’s a look at how other countries and cities have handled the unpopular Covid rule

Tourists in Singapore enjoy a day out without masks. Photo: Xinhua

Pedestrians in Hong Kong’s Central. Photo: Sam Tsang

Macau’s Ruins of St Paul’s. The casino hub is one of the few cities in the world, together with Hong Kong, to require masks in public spaces. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Tourists in traditional kimono clothes pose for a photograph in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Reuters

No more masks by April? Hong Kong finance chief raises hopes by saying city will drop unpopular Covid rule by ‘end of season’

Hong Kong remains one of the few cities in the world still retaining its mask mandate. Photo: Jelly Tse

Financial Secretary Paul Chan. Photo: Sam Tsang

A retail mask shop in Mong Kok. Photo: Edmond So

News

Hong Kong

Health & Environment

Society

Health chief Lo Chung-mau also defends raising tobacco tax, says ending mask requirement will increase smoking rate
‘We should not forget that the masks have helped us a lot during the pandemic,’ he says


Health chief Lo Chung-mau also defends raising tobacco tax, says ending mask requirement will increase smoking rate.


Hong Kong budget 2022-2023

Smoking and vaping

Paul Chan

United Christian Hospital

Coronavirus: masks will still be required at hospitals, nursing homes even after mandate is dropped, Hong Kong’s health chief says

Health chief Lo Chung-mau also defends raising tobacco tax, says ending mask requirement will increase smoking rate ‘We should not forget that the masks have helped us a lot during the pandemic,’ he says

Health chief Lo Chung-mau also defends raising tobacco tax, says ending mask requirement will increase smoking rate

‘We should not forget that the masks have helped us a lot during the pandemic,’ he says