No need to bring back mask mandate, social-distancing curbs despite rising Covid cases, Hong Kong health minister says
- Reintroducing mask mandate will have negative impact on society, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau says
- Lo also warns flu season has not peaked yet and it usually takes 12 to 16 weeks for it to subside
But Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau on Saturday also warned that the flu season, which began this month, had not peaked yet and typically took 12 to 16 weeks to subside.
During a television interview, Lo also said Covid-19 cases were rising, with respiratory tract nucleic acid screening showing a positive result in almost four out of every 100 tests, marking a fourfold increase from the lowest point, when less than one positive case was detected per 100 samples.
The trend matched with the situation observed at public hospitals, he said.
“All of the [Covid-19] figures have increased by about 30 to 50 per cent,” he said, adding the number of daily confirmed cases might have already reached 10,000, outnumbering a small peak in infections recorded last August.
Lo also said reintroducing the mask mandate would result in social and economic costs.
“The mask mandate, a legislative means, would create an adverse impact on social and economic activities. If we can use other methods to deal with [the rise in cases], we will not consider this method for the time being,” he said.
