The states masking rule for businesses and workplaces expired on Feb. 11. We find that population mask wearing notably reduced SARS-CoV-2 transmission (mean mask-wearing levels corresponding to a 19% decrease in R). A young woman wears a KN95 mask in downtown Salt Lake City on Jan. 26, 2022. Hungary no longer requires masks anywhere. Indonesia is one of the countries in Southeast Asia that was greatly affected by the pandemic and had experienced surges of cases since 2020. And not just any mask will do. Face coverings or masks were required at all shops, offices, and hairdressers. New York state's school masking mandate will be lifted Wednesday, Gov. Mask mandates stretching for years on end are going to run out of steam in terms of how effective they are, Dr. Sridhar said. Coronavirus FAQ: I'm a one-way masker. But in the wake of the plummeting numbers and the soaring pandemic fatigue throughout the country, 49 states have announced plans to end their indoor mask mandates. "With the removal of the mandate, Hong Kong will return to normalcy," Mr Lee said on Tuesday. Flight crews have been subject to even more demanding requirements than passengers in many places. Mexico removed all entry requirements, including the mandatory health form, on January 1, 2022. Everyone can show their smiles and say, Hello, Hong Kong, he said, repeating the citys new tourism slogan. Hong Kongs mask mandate has been in effect since July 2020. Hong Kong is one of the last cities globally to still have a mask mandate. Actor Woody Harrelson held nothing back during a February interview with The New York Times where he blasted mandates and COVID-19 protocols. However, the situation is still in flux, with mandates often lifted or reinstated on a day-to-day basis as cases surge or wane in a given country or new COVID-19 variants emerge. Learn how to navigate and strengthen trust in your business with The Trust Factor, a weekly newsletter examining what leaders need to succeed. More than 70% of Americans should be able to remove their masks indoors, including inside schools, under new metrics outlined Friday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that represent a seismic shift in how the public health agency plans to measure COVID-19 risk. On social media, many residents expressed elation and relief that the day of unmasking had "finally" come. April 20, 2022, 10:00 AM UTC. People wear face masks in the MTR station, a day before government gets rid of the mask rule in Hong Kong, Feb. 28, 2023. Still, the new benchmarks could be used by local leaders, school boards and public health officials who are facing vastly different versions of the pandemic even within the same state. 2023 BBC. The virus is under control in Hong Kong with no major signs of a rebound, the city's leader John Lee said. Thousands died, many of them seniors who had not been vaccinated. ", What Countries Require Masks in Public or Recommend Masks? Mask requirements may be a thing of the "After looking at all the data, the trends and the fact that the winter surge [of influenza] is nearing the end, in order to give people a very clear message that Hong Kong is resuming to normalcy, I think this is the right time to make the decision," Lee said. A young woman wears a KN95 mask in downtown Salt Lake City on Jan. 26, 2022. Although masks were not required in outdoor settings where social distancing was possible. Upgrade to Rappler+ for exclusive content and unlimited access. The city's gross domestic product fell by 3.5% last year. No spam, just a weekly roundup of the best aviation news that you don't want to miss. Actor Woody Harrelson held nothing back during a February interview with The New York Times where he blasted mandates and COVID-19 protocols. Most previous work focused on mask mandates; we study the effect of mask wearing directly. There are no comments yet. The U.S. isn't the only country to have dropped mask requirements. They still use shields and gloves. In 2022, there were 126,900 Filipinos who visited the country. Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions. But testing isn't 100% accurate and people aren't always 100% responsible for self-testing. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Wearing face covers in open spaces is no longer a mandate in UAE. 2022. The mandate, which went into effect in mid-July 2020, imposed a more than $600 fine to those who didn't follow mask rules. But those measures could not contain the spread of the more contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus as 2022 began. Overall, Hong Kongs economy contracted by 6.1 percent in 2020; it rebounded in 2021, but shrank again in 2022. The rationale behind mask In addition to masks, passengers are asked to bring their own gloves as an optional additional precautionary measure. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Mall landlords Wharf Real Estate Investment Co. and New World Development Co. rose more than 1.4%. In South Korea, for instance, they are still required on public transportation, as well as in hospitals and pharmacies. As of Wednesday, the city will no longer require people to wear masks indoors, outdoors or on public transportation. Please abide by Rappler's commenting guidelines. The rule was first enforced on July 29, 2020, and directed individuals to wear masks in all public places. BY Tristan Bove. As the country continued to curb the cases in 2022, Malaysia lifted the indoor mask mandate in most public areas. Starting Wednesday, people in Hong Kong will no longer be required to wear masks indoors, outdoors or on public transportation, though facilities like hospitals and nursing homes can still require them, Mr. Lee said. El Salvador no longer requires masks in public spaces. 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The United Kingdom removed its mask restrictions for travelers in 2022. At one stage, masks were required even when exercising. In February, Spain became the last country in Europe to drop its airplane mask mandate, while Japan will only relax mask recommendations from March 13. In late January, South Korea rolled back face covering requirements for most indoor places. As it reopened its borders, Singapore dropped mandatory mask requirements, both indoors and outdoors, in August 2022. "You must wear your mask at all times throughout the flight, except when eating or drinking," is Egyptair's position. Singapore has been lauded as highly effective in its management of containing COVID-19 with a very low number of cases from the virus. Offers may be subject to change without notice. A mask can be the cheapest, simplest tool to protect you from infections in these situations.". FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? The airline is, however, aware that many Hong Kongers may feel nervous about being around unmasked passengers or crew members for long periods in these cases, the airline has asked nervous passengers not to fly until they feel comfortable around unmasked seatmates. S&P Index data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. Visitors wearing protective face masks walk under decorations for the New Year at Nakamise Street leading to Senso-ji Temple at the Asakusa district, in Tokyo on January 9, 2023. Under the mandate, which began in July 2020 and lasted for 945 days, people could be fined up to HK$5,000 (530; $640). Hoping to revive tourism, the city recently announced plans to give away half a million plane tickets to foreign visitors, and the authorities have continued to roll back the remaining restrictions. Shares of companies linked to tourism gained. Mask mandates are still in effect in a small number of places. And there are still some inflight announcements about infection prevention for instance, reminding passengers not to touch their face, In China and other countries you'll also need medical documents in order to fly. Estonia has no mask rules at this time. Emirates Wants to Massively Expand its Operations in India By Adding 50,000 Seats Per Week. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Read about our approach to external linking. Additionally, Hong Kong's population shrunk dramatically during the Covid period. This move seeks to relax public health measures for economic and social activities. "People who wear a high-quality mask are well-protected, even if others around you are not masking," Massetti said. France With more than 92% of its population of 67+ million people vaccinated, France chose to lift the majority of its COVID-19 restrictions in "We know that also because children are relatively at lower risk from severe illness that schools can be safe places for children. Japan has been one of the main travel destinations of Filipinos in the past years. India Dot Com Private Limited. Although there is no legal mask mandate covering the entire country of Japan, there are strong recommendations to wear a mask in public. Hong Kong had one of the worlds longest and strictest mask mandates which required people to wear a face mask in nearly all public settings, including outside in the open air. Almost 100,000 Filipino tourists arrived in Indonesia before the pandemic. In a press conference Tuesday, Chief Executive John Lee said residents and tourists will not be required to wear masks indoors, outdoors or on public transportation for the first time in nearly three years. Hong Kong largely avoided mass outbreaks in the first two years of the pandemic by imposing tight border controls and social distancing policies, in an attempt to bring its caseload as close to zero as possible. Masks are just one protective measure for these airline passengers arriving in Shanghai from Paris. Hong Kong to scrap almost all its Covid rules, Hong Kong shortens Covid hotel quarantine, Station master arrested after dozens killed in Greece train crash, Survivors describe 'nightmarish seconds' as trains crashed, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. The Hang Seng Tech index As the country continued to curb the cases in 2022, Malaysia lifted the indoor mask mandate in most public areas. Despite relaxing border rules late last year, Hong Kongs government had been reluctant to lift the mask mandate amidst calls from various medical professionals to keep the mandate in force for the foreseeable future. However many locals could be seen still wearing masks on Wednesday, local media reported. If those risk factors climbed, putting a community at "high" risk, the CDC recommends that a community urges its residents to return to masks and step up other precautions. Checking with any international carrier before heading to the airport is still critical, says Wu. "We look forward to a better tomorrow, which is the 1st of March so that we can all put a smile on our faces say, 'Hello, Hong Kong,'" he said, according to Hong Kong Free Press. 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Sign in to listen to groundbreaking journalism. Several other countries and territories in Asia have been rolling back COVID-19 restrictions as leaders look to shift to an endemic phase. Vietnam made face masks compulsory for people to wear in public on March 16. The US is one of the countries severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic during the early stages of the outbreak with a recorded 103 million cases. It, however, still recommends wearing masks indoors and in crowded places. Next month will see Hong Kong host the biggest series of international events since often-violent protests in 2019shut downmuch of the city, including a music festival, Art Basel and the Rugby Sevens tournament. Sa Sa International Holdings Ltd., which sells beauty products, climbed as much as 6.4%. However, Mexico still has various internal restrictionsincluding mandatory masks in most indoor spaces, social distancing rules, and self-isolation rules. After long 959 days or three years, the city of Hong Kong has finally bid adieu to the controversial COVID-19 mask mandate that was brought in to prevent the spread of the virus. While Germany had seemed at times to have much of the virus under control, mask mandates and restrictions tightened in January 2021. It was only a year ago that some Americans were talking about wearing masks forever, becoming a society where it is normal to wear face coverings when we shop for groceries or go the gym, even after the urgent threat of COVID-19 was The population has fallen by a net 187,000 in the three years through 2022 as Rappler.com. The controls, which changed frequently and with little warning, came at a heavy cost to residents and contributed to an exodus from the city. Macau, the nearby gambling hub, which like Hong Kong is a Chinese territory, ended its outdoor mask mandate on Monday. Cathay Pacific has told passengers who are nervous or uncomfortable around seatmates who choose not to wear a face mask on one of the airlines flights to postpone their travel plans after Hong Kong lifted its years-long mask mandate. Subscribe To Our Daily Newsletter And Get News Delivered Straight To Your Inbox. Under the mandate, which began in July 2020 and lasted for Hong Kong had dropped most other pandemic restrictions by earlier this year. Cloth masks were deemed no longer acceptable, and people were required to wear medical-grade masks. People deserve choice in terms of how they are protecting themselves, and they have been doing this since the very first days of the pandemic, and they are going to continue to do that., Hong Kong, One of Worlds Last Holdouts, Ends Its Mask Mandate, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/27/world/asia/hong-kong-mask-mandate.html. Many analysts view the relaxation of mask mandates as the next logical step. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice| Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information| Ad Choices 2023 Fortune Media IP Limited. When asked why it dropped its universal masking recommendation for schools, the CDC said the lower risk of serious COVID-19 illness in kids was a factor. Updated: 11:07 PM EST February 25, 2022. Speaking truth to power requires allies like you. Under the new metrics, more than half of U.S. counties, which make up about three-fourths of where Americans live, are now considered to be at "low" or "medium" risk because of a reduced number of new COVID-19 hospitalizations and adequate hospital space. The new recommendations are a major change in how the federal government is approaching pandemic guidance. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Here are some countries mostly frequented by Filipinos that have eased or lifted the mandatory face mask protocol: Japan is one of the countries that controlled the spread of COVID-19 and has not seen a massive outbreak of the virus until 2021. Video, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story, Ed Sheeran says wife developed tumour in pregnancy, Covid origin likely China lab incident - FBI chief, Bieber cancels remaining Justice world tour dates, Ruling party wins Nigeria's presidential election, Uranium particles enriched to 83.7% found in Iran, Finland starts construction of Russia border fence, Trump lashes out at Murdoch over vote fraud case, Daily walk prevents one in 10 early deaths - study, Pictures show devastation after Greece train disaster. While most countries across the globe opened up in a phased manner with the majority relaxing the mask mandate much earlier, Hong Kong continued to follow the line The virus is under control in Hong Kong with no major signs of a rebound, the city's leader John Lee said. According to Tourism Malaysia, 396,000 Filipino tourists visited the Southeast Asian country in 2018. Nevertheless, face masks should still be worn in: As the number of COVID-19 infections in Spain continues to decline, the country recently removed the mandate for wearing masks in outdoor settings. The CDC guidance is an acknowledgement that hospitalization rates in recent weeks have fallen dramatically and that highly vaccinated communities would be able to withstand an uptick in cases without overwhelming their local hospital systems. 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