Hawara: 'What happened was horrific and barbaric', The people who want you to believe the Ukraine war is fake, What we've learned from Alex Murdaugh murder trial. This move seeks to relax public health measures for economic and social activities. FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. Actor Woody Harrelson held nothing back during a February interview with The New York Times where he blasted mandates and COVID-19 protocols. We didnt see that major difference with transmissions. Before Wednesday, people living in Hong Kong had to wear a mask in any public area. While Germany had seemed at times to have much of the virus under control, mask mandates and restrictions tightened in January 2021. Hong Kong was one of last places on Earth to mandate mask-wearing. "We know that also because children are relatively at lower risk from severe illness that schools can be safe places for children. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. 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. India Dot Com Private Limited. 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. We are witnessing the Great Unmasking, with masks mandates falling faster, even, than plummeting Omicron caseloads. 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COLUMBUS, Ohio Masks will no longer be required for anyone on school buses, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Friday. The mandate, which went into effect in mid-July 2020, imposed a more than $600 fine to those who didn't follow mask rules. We find that population mask wearing notably reduced SARS-CoV-2 transmission (mean mask-wearing levels corresponding to a 19% decrease in R). The mandate, which went into effect in mid-July 2020, imposed a more than $600 fine to those who didn't follow mask rules. The past three years of global isolation have weighed heavily on the citys economy and reputation. It's too premature," says Mike Toole, a founding member of Medicins sans Frontiers in Australia and an associate research fellow at Burnet Institute whose work revolves around infectious diseases and international health. - 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. 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. Masks are just one protective measure for these airline passengers arriving in Shanghai from Paris. By last year, most European countries that had imposed mask rules had scaled them back everywhere except on planes and some metros. Mall landlords Wharf Real Estate Investment Co. and New World Development Co. rose more than 1.4%. 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 From tomorrow we are completely returning to normalcy, Lee said. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Many people have stopped wearing masks but others are still opting to keep theirs on. 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. Schools were closed for months on end, residents of nursing homes were denied visitors, and restaurants and bars saw their hours restricted or had to shut entirely. Most previous work focused on mask mandates; we study the effect of mask wearing directly. Your body temperature is measured when you enter an airport and again before boarding the plane. There are no comments yet. As it reopened its borders, Singapore dropped mandatory mask requirements, both indoors and outdoors, in August 2022. The United Kingdom removed its mask restrictions for travelers in 2022. Sign in to listen to groundbreaking journalism. The new metrics will place the majority of the country in low to medium COVID-19 risk. The mask mandate for domestic U.S. flights has been lifted although it might come back. Two new studies on the effectiveness of mask mandates and city-level COVID-19 vaccine mandates concluded the policies failed to achieve their promised objectives.. Terms & Conditions. Learn how to navigate and strengthen trust in your business with The Trust Factor, a weekly newsletter examining what leaders need to succeed. A young woman wears a KN95 mask in downtown Salt Lake City on Jan. 26, 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. As part of its Hello Hong Kong campaign, the city is giving away more thanhalf a millionairline tickets starting from Wednesday. Feb. 28, 2022, 12:34 PM PST / Updated April 21, 2022, 6:15 AM PDT. 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. "None of us know what the future holds for us and for this virus," Walensky said. In the end, the government gave little more than a days notice that the mandate would be scrapped seemingly in response to a similar policy shift from the autonomous region of Macau which is also able to set various policies independently of Beijing. Hong Kongs tough Covid controls, which until last year also included limits on group gatherings, flight bans and long hotel quarantines, were criticized by business leaders and others, who said they were needlessly damaging peoples livelihoods, as well as the citys status as a finance center and a tourist destination. Dominican Republic has no rules for wearing a mask. 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. 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. As the COVID-19 situation improved, the Thai government lifted its mask mandate in 2022 and allowed bars and other night venues to operate for longer hours. We use the largest wearing survey (n = 20 million) and obtain our estimates from regions across six It was only a year ago that some Americans were The removal of the mask mandate may help stimulate interest in Hong Kong, along with the ticket giveaway. Shares of companies linked to tourism gained. Gross domestic product shrank 3.5% in 2022, contracting for the third time in four years. The same thing has happened in some countries in Latin America: Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, for example. The following are the CDC guidelines in the USA for areas of: Wear if in contact with someone at high risk for severe illness, Masks required indoors and in public places. Hong Kongs leader said on Tuesday that the city would lift its mask mandate, one of the last such policies in the world, effectively ending what had been one of the pandemics strictest Covid regimes. 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. 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 "With the removal of the mandate, Hong Kong will return to normalcy," Mr Lee said on Tuesday. All Federal employees, onsite contractors, and visitors, regardless of vaccination status, must wear a high-quality mask inside of Federal buildings in areas Although many indoor mask mandates are implemented at the city and county level, six states still have mandates in place: California, Hawaii, Illinois, New Mexico, 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. Indonesia is one of the countries in Southeast Asia that was greatly affected by the pandemic and had experienced surges of cases since 2020. Although Cathay Pacific is free to enforce its own mandate, the airline has chosen to follow the lead of the Hong Kong government and lift masking rules from March 1. The city's gross domestic product fell by 3.5% last year. Hong Kong is ending its mask mandate Wednesday, becoming one of the world's last cities to drop rules demanding face coverings. 2023 Fortune Media IP Limited. Masks will still be required in health care settings. The new metrics will place the majority of the country in low to medium COVID-19 risk. hide caption. Although there is no legal mask mandate covering the entire country of Japan, there are strong recommendations to wear a mask in public. 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 Because the truth is worth it.). Mask requirements may be a thing of the In a press call with reporters, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky cautioned that COVID was unpredictable and that these conditions could change that put hospitals at risk of once again being overloaded. 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. 3. Hong Kong's Asian rival Singapore scrapped indoor face coverings in August, while South Korea did the same in January this year. At least now tourists dont have to worry about being fined for not wearing a mask in the street, said Pamela Mak, president of Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises Association. Now to But testing isn't 100% accurate and people aren't always 100% responsible for self-testing. Hong Kong will stop requiring masks to be worn in public places from Wednesday, drawing to a close the prolonged Covid era that damaged its economy and standing in the world. (At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. 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. Always keeping an ear close to the ground, Matt's industry insights, analysis and news coverage is frequently relied upon by some of the biggest names in journalism. 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. According to Tourism Malaysia, 396,000 Filipino tourists visited the Southeast Asian country in 2018. In 2019, the US was home to more than four million Filipinos. Iceland Iceland was one of the first countries in 2022 to remove all their internal covid-related restrictions, as well as their entry requirements, returning to a pre-pandemic normal. Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions. Face coverings or masks were required at all shops, offices, and hairdressers. Coronavirus FAQ: I'm a one-way masker. On the no-no list: Fabric or reusable masks on flights within Chile. 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. 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. Failing to comply with the rules could see authorities slapping a fine of up to $1,275 (HK$ 10,000). 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. Face masks must still be worn in closed spaces. 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