Commuters carrying face masks browse their smartphones as they journey on a subway prepare in Hong Kong on Feb. 7, 2023. Hong Kong will carry its masks mandate Wednesday, March 1, 2023, ending the town’s final main restriction imposed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Andy Wong/AP

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Andy Wong/AP

Commuters carrying face masks browse their smartphones as they journey on a subway prepare in Hong Kong on Feb. 7, 2023. Hong Kong will carry its masks mandate Wednesday, March 1, 2023, ending the town’s final main restriction imposed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Andy Wong/AP

HONG KONG — Hong Kong will carry its masks mandate Wednesday, ending the town’s final main restriction imposed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

The metropolis’s Chief Executive John Lee stated the requirement will finish outside and indoors, together with public transit, however some high-risk premises together with hospitals and aged properties can nonetheless require individuals to put on masks.

Lee’s announcement at a information briefing Tuesday got here a day after the neighboring metropolis Macau eased its masks rule and can carry the monetary hub nearer to the life in pre-pandemic days.

He stated he made the choice as a result of the town didn’t see a rebound in infections and has constructed an immunity barrier.

“In order to give people a very clear message that Hong Kong is resuming normalcy, I think this is the right time to make the decision,” he stated.

He stated the return to normalcy could be helpful to Hong Kong’s financial improvement and worldwide competitiveness.

For a lot of the pandemic, individuals in Hong Kong have been required to put on a masks in indoor and out of doors public areas. Violators could possibly be fined 5,000 Hong Kong {dollars} ($637).

Hong Kong had largely adopted China’s “zero-COVID” technique during the last three years and used to have among the world’s strictest anti-virus guidelines. In the final six months, the federal government has taken greater steps to open up in an try and revive its economic system and meet up with its rivals equivalent to Singapore.