Hong Kong overhauls Covid regulations

(RT) ⸻ Hong Kong, one of the last major international cities to continue to impose a mask mandate to mitigate transmission of Covid-19, will end the policy on Wednesday, the city's leader John Lee announced at a news conference on Tuesday. Hong Kong began to withdraw some of its strict pandemic safety measures last year after it had followed the lead of Beijing's zero-Covid policy, but mask-wearing requirements have remained in place for much of the past three years. Lee said that scrapping the mask mandate will provide a boost to economic development in the region, and that it is now a suitable time to fully cancel the order. The sweeping policy changes come after the launch of the 'Hello Hong Kong' promotional campaign, which is designed to attract tourism and international commerce to the region after both sectors struggled since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Hong Kong says it received around 500,000 international visitors in January, three times higher than in December.