No Plans To Require Masks Amid Covid Surge: Govt

The government is not considering bringing back the mask-wearing requirement, health secretary Lo Chung-mau said on Saturday, even though different data showed Covid-19 infections are on the rise in Hong Kong.

Speaking on an i-Cable TV programme, the minister said it's estimated that about 10,000 people are being infected daily based on the level of coronavirus detected in sewage, surpassing the peak last summer. But Lo is confident that hospitals and the community are capable of coping with a surge in cases.

"Our ability to deal with the pandemic has improved a lot. So even if there is a peak in spring and summer, we can handle it without social distancing measures that are not medically-related," he said.

"The mask-wearing order is a legislative means that will bring negative impacts to many social and economic activities. If we can use other methods to cope with [the pandemic], we will not consider [non-medical measures] for the time being."

On Covid cases involving the Arcturus variant, Lo said the variant is only found in less than three percent of sewage samples. He noted that such infections are on an upward trend locally and officials will monitor the situation closely.

Government pandemic advisor Ivan Hung, for his part, said as the new Covid variant Arcturus is becoming much more common in the United States, the variant may also spread in Hong Kong.

“There may be more cases to come especially with the Arcturus increasing in the next few weeks,” he told reporters after a radio programme.

”But overall apart from being much more contagious, the pathogenesis [of the new variant] is probably the same as the other Omicron. So I don't think it is anything to worry about, as we have very good hybrid immunity."

Hung said the new variant might cause eye complications that will resolve themselves once the virus is cured.

Still, he advised those with eye problems to visit an ophthalmologist to rule out the possibility of other bacterial infections.

Hung also renewed the call for Covid-19 and flu jabs for the elderly, children and those with chronic illness, saying that flu cases will peak soon in one to two weeks, but Covid cases will only reach their peak in seven to eight weeks.