🌊 Goodbye outdoor mask mandates?
🌊 Goodbye outdoor mask mandates?
Even more social-distancing measures relaxed 🥳
Good morning.
This is the countdown timer I never thought we needed, and yet here we are… (shoutout to Charlotte for making John Lee’s road to CE more exciting than it needs to be 😂👏🏼):
— Carlos
On Today’s Tide
COVID-19 |
Health expert predicts HK’s outdoor mask mandates will be scrapped this summer 👀
More social-distancing rules relaxed as bars, clubs, party rooms, and karaoke lounges re-open
HK’s jobless rate rises to 12-month high of 5.4 percent following fifth wave of COVID-19
Economy | Second batch of HK$5,000 consumption vouchers could be dished out by July
Events
Behind the paywall:
Society | Head of Hong Kong Journalists Association leaving HK to join fellowship programme in the U
Crime | Man arrested at sea during HK’s largest seizure of smuggled pets
Politics | CE-elect John Lee pushing for new deputy ministers
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So long to outdoor mask mandates?
COVID-19
Dying to go mask-free outdoors? You may be able to sooner than you think. 👀
HKU professor and infectious disease expert Ivan Hung predicted yesterday that Hong Kong may soon drop mandatory requirements for people to wear masks outdoors, saying that only the figure on serious disease and death in COVID-19 cases reflect the severity of the city’s overall pandemic situation.
Should no new variants arise, Hung noted that Hong Kong can then scrap outdoor mask mandates and flight suspension mechanisms, as well as introduce home quarantine on arrival.
New cases: 291 (85 PCR, 168 RAT, 38 imported)
Total cases: 1,209,688
New deaths: 1 (0 backlog)
Total deaths: 9,366
Other COVID-19 updates:
• Even more social-distancing measures were relaxed yesterday. Bars, clubs, party rooms, and karaoke lounges have all re-opened, with restaurants now permitted to operate until midnight. People exercising indoors won’t have to wear masks if gyms meet authorities’ requirements on air change. For more details, check out HKFP’s full list of relaxed measures here.
• Microbiologist Ho Pak-leung said yesterday that as long as most confirmed COVID-19 patients develop only mild or no symptoms, Hong Kong’s social-distancing measures should not be re-tightened again.
• Strict social-distancing rules amid COVID-19’s fifth wave resulted in Hong Kong’s unemployment rate rising to a 12-month high of 5.4 percent in the three months ending in April.
Lockdown updates:
• The government yesterday announced that six COVID-19 cases were uncovered during the compulsory testing exercises for restricted areas in Kwun Tong, Fanling, and Kennedy Town.
Second batch of HK$5,000 consumption vouchers to roll out in July
Economy
Hongkongers can expect the second batch of the government’s latest round of HK$5,000 consumption e-vouchers worth in July. But the president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, Simon Wong Ka-wo, said yesterday he hopes authorities to distribute the second batch ahead of Father’s Day in mid-June.
The latest round of the HK$10,000 consumption voucher program was rolled out back in March. Applicants received the first HK$5,000 through their registered e-payment platforms, such as Octopus, AlipayHK, Tap & Go, and WeChat Pay. Hope ya’ll have been spending them wisely…
Events and deals
Support Harbour Times, our friends, and partners by attending these events! Let everyone know who sent you by tagging @harbourtimes.
DC Dragon Boat Festival
To bring attention to an international Hong Kong event, Hongkongers will be taking part in the Washington DC Dargon Boat Festival and will be proud to represent Hongkongers everywhere!
Open Division: 250m & 500m
When: 21 May, 9 AM - 4 PM
Location: Thompsons Boat Center (2900 Virginia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20007)
250m Time Trail: 9:32 AM
250m Final: 10:20-11:28 AM
500m Time Trial: 1:20 PM
500m Final: 2:40-3:48 PM
ReThink HK 5-6 October
As a High Tide subscriber, you get to enjoy super-early-bird prices until 4 Sep (already expired for everyone else in early May).
Sign up here using the code HTP22 for 40% off a standard ticket!
HT is proud to be once again a media partner for ReThink - HK’s biggest and most exciting sustainability conference. This year’s conference invites more than 300 expert speakers to share their visions and insights, covering important topics like economic progression while coexisting with nature harmoniously, efficient use of resources, transformation to a low-carbon society, and circular economy for future generations.
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