What are the CDC guidelines? With the removal of the mask mandate, Hong Kong will return to normal all around, and in this year and the coming year will go all out for the economy and development at full speed, Mr. Lee said. We are witnessing the Great Unmasking, with masks mandates falling faster, even, than plummeting Omicron caseloads. Walensky said that a review of that requirement is ongoing and a decision will be made in the weeks ahead. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Most states either don't have a statewide mask mandate in place or have announced plans to drop their mandates soon. It is a clear message to show Hong Kong is resuming normalcy," Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee told Reuters. 2023 BBC. 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. Although Hong Kong seemed like an outlier with its far-reaching mask mandate, there are still a number of countries that require masks onboard public transport and on commercial aircraft. Everyone can show their smiles and say, Hello, Hong Kong, he said, repeating the citys new tourism slogan. Please abide by Rappler's commenting guidelines. Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times. As the world continues to live and adapt to the pandemic, several countries, including the Philippines, have lifted the face mask requirement. 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. Heres where. She also noted that people who have tested positive for COVID-19 or been exposed to it should continue to mask, regardless of what risk-level their community has. 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 set by Beijing. Mall landlords Wharf Real Estate Investment Co. and New World Development Co. rose more than 1.4%. Earlier this month, the tourism board launched the "Hello Hong Kong" campaign, giving away 500,000 free airline tickets in an attempt to lure international travelers. In January, passenger volumes at the Norman Foster-designed airport were a third of the level four years earlier. Speaking truth to power requires allies like you. But testing isn't 100% accurate and people aren't always 100% responsible for self-testing. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Accordingly, the CDC now says individuals at high-risk of COVID-19 complications should consider taking precautions, such as avoiding crowds and wearing a high-quality mask. In fact, he thinks masking is more important than ever because governments may be relying on people to be responsible, self-test and not fly if they test positive for COVID. "We think this is the best timing to make this decision. The United Kingdom is home to an estimated 200,000 Filipinos. At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. The Hang Seng Tech index meanwhile, fell 1.42%. ABC News' Britt Clennett contributed to this report. Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions. 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. The Japanese government has said it will ease mask-wearing guidelines on 13 March, recommending masks only on trains and buses during rush hour, or where public transportation is particularly congested. While the updated guidance drops the recommendation of universal masking in schools, the CDC said it is still reviewing a federal requirement that individuals wear masks on public transportation, including on airplanes. Hector Retamal /AFP via Getty Images The Hang Seng Tech index The United Kingdom removed its mask restrictions for travelers in 2022. Actor Woody Harrelson held nothing back during a February interview with The New York Times where he blasted mandates and COVID-19 protocols. The virus is under control in Hong Kong with no major signs of a rebound, the city's leader John Lee said. The mandate, which went into effect in mid-July 2020, imposed a more than $600 fine to those who didn't follow mask rules. Passengers are required to wear medical surgical, KN95 or N95 masks from the time of check-in at the airport through the duration of the flight and until you leave the airport. Dominican Republic has no rules for wearing a mask. However, after China dropped several of its stringent policies in December 2022 and Hong Kong followed suit, it led to a surge of cases not seen since March 2022, according to Our World in Data, which uses data from Johns Hopkins University. Mexico removed all entry requirements, including the mandatory health form, on January 1, 2022. 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. While mask mandates and restrictions had started to relax in China in late 2021, the Omicron variant caused a resurgence in both COVID-19 cases and the addendant restrictions that accompany them in early 2022. However many locals could be seen still wearing masks on Wednesday, local media reported. In 2019, the US was home to more than four million Filipinos. Subscribe To Our Daily Newsletter And Get News Delivered Straight To Your Inbox. As the country continued to curb the cases in 2022, Malaysia lifted the indoor mask mandate in most public areas. Mateusz Maszczynski honed his skills as an international flight attendant. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News. A child acting as hallway monitor watches as children move about a hallway wearing COVID-19 protective masks at Carter Traditional Elementary School in Louisville, Ky., Jan. 24, 2022. The majority of the country would now be considered low-to-medium risk. Switzerland removed its indoor mask mandate on February 17, 2022. The virus is under control in Hong Kong with no major signs of a rebound, the city's leader John Lee said. But Prime Minister Jean Castex said Thursday that restrictions there would gradually lift with mask and remote work mandates easing early next month and On Tuesday, Hong Kong recorded just 96 COVID-19 cases, according to Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection. 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. No spam, just a weekly roundup of the best aviation news that you don't want to miss. Siddharth Sridhar, a clinical virologist at the University of Hong Kong, noted that when the virus began spreading in the city in early 2020, its residents almost universally wore masks, even before they became mandatory. Hong Kong was one of the world's last masking holdouts. Indonesia is one of the countries in Southeast Asia that was greatly affected by the pandemic and had experienced surges of cases since 2020. 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. Harrelson conducted the interview to promote his new film Champions, but things took a turn when he was asked about his perspective on the movie business evolution since the 1990s. Finland is entirely free of mask-related rules. ", What Countries Require Masks in Public or Recommend Masks? It still poses an ongoing risk of international spread and requires coordinated international response so we are still in a public health emergency of international concern. 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 had dropped most other pandemic restrictions by earlier this year. Most of these curbs were rolled back at the end of last year. The progress of vaccination and drop in hospitalizations and deaths allow us to take this measure.". The one for schools expired on March 1. Gross domestic product shrank 3.5% in 2022, contracting for the third time in four years. 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Although masks were not required in outdoor settings where social distancing was possible. Places where social distancing is not followed. Other Covid curbs in Hong Kong included strict quarantine rules, limitations on the number of people gathering in public places, as well as restricting visitors in nursing homes. People wear face masks in the MTR station, a day before government gets rid of the mask rule in Hong Kong, Feb. 28, 2023. The new recommendations are a major change in how the federal government is approaching pandemic guidance. Macau, the nearby gambling hub, which like Hong Kong is a Chinese territory, ended its outdoor mask mandate on Monday. The same thing has happened in some countries in Latin America: Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, for Some criticised the rule's duration and its sudden scrapping - amid wider criticism of the city's pandemic policies for the past three years. Before Wednesday, people living in Hong Kong had to wear a mask in any public area. Failing to comply with the rules could see authorities slapping a fine of up to $1,275 (HK$ 10,000). In February, the Japanese government announced that on March 13, it will start to ease restrictions on mask-wearing including in public transportation and schools. They still use shields and gloves. As the country continued to curb the cases in 2022, Malaysia lifted the indoor mask mandate in most public areas. Gross domestic product shrank 3.5% in 2022, contracting for the third time in four years. Most previous work focused on mask mandates; we study the effect of mask wearing directly. There will no longer be a need to wear a mask on Cathay Pacific flights or in its airport lounges. But in mid-March the rules were revised; PPEs are no longer required for cabin crew onboard. The U.S. isn't the only country to have dropped mask requirements. Hong Kong's Asian rival Singapore scrapped indoor face coverings in August, while South Korea did the same in January this year. Hong Kong has largely followed mainland China's lead in efforts to tackle the virus, including attempts to eliminate it with a "zero-Covid" strategy. A mask can be the cheapest, simplest tool to protect you from infections in these situations.". 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. The updated guidance comes after weeks of pressure from governors and state officials who asked for a clear roadmap at the national level. While Germany had seemed at times to have much of the virus under control, mask mandates and restrictions tightened in January 2021. However, government officials have explicitly stated that plans could change as new data and/or disease cases emerge. - Masks4All, Europe Travel: No Masks Needed In These EU Countries - Forbes, Countries That Have Removed All Internal Covid Restrictions - Travel Off Path, Some countries in Latin America end face mask rules - AA. With more than 92% of its population of 67+ million people vaccinated, France chose to lift the majority of its COVID-19 restrictions in March 2022. 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. This move seeks to relax public health measures for economic and social activities. Heres where. Instead of heavily relying on the number of COVID-19 cases to gauge mask effectiveness, the CDC is assessing local hospital capacity and rate of hospitalisation to formulate key measures in the USA. It, however, still recommends wearing face masks indoors, and in public transportation, including airplanes and trains. Learn how your comment data is processed. Hong Kong is ending its mask mandate Wednesday, becoming one of the world's last cities to drop rules demanding face coverings. Masking up is still a requirement with a number of airlines: Air France, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Pakistan International Airlines, South African Airways and Malaysian, to name a few. Japan has been one of the main travel destinations of Filipinos in the past years. Under previous rules, the CDC primarily considered COVID-19 case counts to determine risk. Once a saver, always a saver: Warren Buffett says generational wealth isnt what it used to be in his annual letter Its bigger than the housing crisis: An influential economist just blamed NIMBYs for American decline, and Elon Musk CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. For business its a game changer, said Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Holdings Ltd. Before, a lot of people would stay away from Hong Kong because the mask was showing that we were still stuck in the Covid days.. Hong Kong is one of the last cities globally to still have a mask mandate. Many countries have also implemented mask mandates in fact, more than the number of countries that have imposed vaccine mandates. Read more:Hong Kong announces further easing of COVID-19 curbs. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The National Authority for Emergency, Crisis, and Disaster Management (NCEMA) has announced face covers to be optional. Although there is no legal mask mandate covering the entire country of Japan, there are strong recommendations to wear a mask in public. It, however, still recommends wearing masks indoors and in crowded places. CDC has previously recommended wearing a high-quality mask, such as a tight-fitting N95 version and avoiding areas with low vaccination levels. Mask requirements may be a thing of the Mask mandates are still in effect in a small number of places. The virus is under control in Hong Kong with no major signs of a rebound, the city's leader John Lee said. 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. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021, most of the world's countries mandated the use of surgical-type masks in an effort to slow the spread of the disease. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News. 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 In recent days, officials announced that visitors to hospitals and nursing homes would no longer have to show PCR test results, and that starting in March, students would not be required to take daily rapid antigen tests before attending school. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News. Mateusz Maszczynski honed his skills as an international flight attendant at the most prominent airline in the Middle East and has been flying throughout the COVID-19 pandemic for a well-known European airline. 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. Masks were still required on public transportation and in health care facilities, but not in restaurants, sports stadiums, movie theaters, and other public places. Evidence shows that the coronavirus is under control in Hong Kong, without major signs of rebound, Chief Executive John Lee said at a news briefing. 3. With the improvement of the COVID-19 situation, Indonesia has scrapped indoor mask mandates and removed all the remaining restrictions when entering buildings in 2022. From tomorrow we are completely returning to normalcy, Lee said. In a press conference on April 20, the director of the Pan American Health Organization, Dr. Carissa Etienne, noted: "The WHO's emergency committee last week declared that the COVID health pandemic still constitutes an extraordinary event that continues to adversely affect the health of populations around the world. Accordingly, the CDC would no longer recommend that these communities insist on indoor masking. Learn more. Wearing a mask both indoors and outside was mandated in Italy throughout much of the pandemic. However, Mexico still has various internal restrictionsincluding mandatory masks in most indoor spaces, social distancing rules, and self-isolation rules. Kathy Hochul announced Sunday. Hong Kong's Asian rival Singapore scrapped indoor face coverings in August, while South Korea did the same in January this year. Learn how to navigate and strengthen trust in your business with The Trust Factor, a weekly newsletter examining what leaders need to succeed. 2022. Hong Kongs mask mandate has been in effect since July 2020. The controls, which changed frequently and with little warning, came at a heavy cost to residents and contributed to an exodus from the city. Many countries have also implemented mask mandates in fact, more than the number of countries that have imposed vaccine mandates. The mandate, which went into effect in mid-July 2020, imposed a more than $600 fine to those who didn't follow mask rules. Under the mandate, which began in July 2020 and lasted for Thailand was able to keep the number of COVID-19 cases low in the early stages of the pandemic in 2020 due to its early lockdown and effective contact tracing strategy. New York state's school masking mandate will be lifted Wednesday, Gov. The new metrics will place the majority of the country in low to medium COVID-19 risk. Mask rules are changing yet again, this time on public transit. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Cloth masks were deemed no longer acceptable, and people were required to wear medical-grade masks. After much criticism, the Hong Kong authorities in December last year decided to lift its contentious "amber code," which forced residents to use an app to enter any venue. 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