On local radio, a leading microbiologist floats the idea of eliminating mask-wearing requirements this spring. finews.asia takes a look. 

It was in early 2020 – or nearly three years ago – when most Hong Kong residents started wearing surgical masks in large numbers.

Many, jaded by SARs almost two decades earlier, needed little prompting given the news of an as-yet-unknown respiratory infection in Wuhan, with mask-wearing ubiquitous by that July, when the compulsory government requirement for everyone to do so kicked in.

Now, the microbiology head of Hong Kong University and government advisor Kwok-yung Yuen has floated the idea of doing away with them entirely, with several city media reporting his comments made to local radio on Thursday.

Warmer Weather

The «Hong Kong Free Press» indicated that he believed March or April would be a good time to relax the requirement when the weather became warmer.

«The Standard», a widely distributed free English language daily newspaper, reported similar comments, although they also emphasized his statements about the possibility of a «painful» transition marked by, among other things, a resurgence in flu infections.

His statements are likely being made to prepare the city to remove one of the last remaining Covid-19 restrictions, not least given most residents apparently want to keep them in place, as the HKFP reported, citing a recent survey.

Living with Covid-19

But it does seem like the government has firmly moved into the camp of living with Covid-19, even if many of its citizens have not – or at least not yet.

A sign of that is Yuen indicating to the radio station that Covid-19 is here to stay and that lifting mask mandates sooner would be better than later even if there is a wave of infections afterward.

«But we will have to endure this pain. Every country has endured this pain. As I said back in February or March of 2020, this virus will not leave us,» Yuen was reported as saying.

Returning from Abroad

So, what can residents expect now, particularly foreign ones who have been abroad and tasted what life is like without a mask?

A great deal of discussion, occasionally heated, is likely to take place in the media between government authorities and health experts until the mask-wearing requirement is lifted. Then the city is likely to face its next challenge. Getting back to normality.

That could be a big ask given the «Wall Street Journal» report (paywall) last week on the challenges authorities have in Japan and South Korea in getting people to stop wearing masks.