'Stay Vigilant Despite Relaxed Mask Order'

The undersecretary for food and health, Chui Tak-yi, on Thursday urged people to stay vigilant, saying a planned relaxing of a mask order for the public doesn't mean people should ignore the risk of infection.

Chui made the comments ahead of a planned easing of some social distancing restrictions that will, among other things, allow people to take their masks off when they're doing strenuous exercise outdoors or in country parks.

Speaking at the daily Covid-19 press briefing, Chui was questioned if certain activities such as badminton or tai chi, or even any form of physical labour outdoors, would count as strenuous activity and if there are fears that the regulations might be too vague.

Chui said officials have to be general about the exercise part because they can't list out all types of sport that will be exempted.

“If that activity is also quite strenuous and individuals are breathing very hard or panting, that would be probably regarded as physically demanding," he said.

He added that individuals would need to explain to law enforcement why they're not wearing a mask, and the officer will need to determine visually whether the activity the individual is doing is physically strenuous.

Chui said people should keep their masks on as much as possible, and the government will keep a close watch on the epidemic to see when there can be more relaxation, and will not hesitate to tighten measures if the situation gets worse.

"Balancing the downward trend of the number of new cases, and also the issue of fatigue, I think the government has decided to slowly introduce some relaxation in some of the premises or some of the activities, so that is the principle. Of course we will be very closely monitoring the situation – especially the number of new cases – in the near, say, one week, when these new measures have been implemented."

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) meanwhile confirmed that Hong Kong recorded 21 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, of which just three were imported.

Of the 18 local cases, four had no known source, namely a police officer, taxi driver, supermarket worker, and retiree.

The centre's Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said the officer is based in the West Kowloon Regional Headquarters and didn't do any patrolling in the streets. She said 10 of his colleagues are listed as close contacts.

The 14 cases related to previous clusters include a social worker at the Hong Chi Lei Muk Shue Hostel for people with intellectual disabilities where a small outbreak was first reported on Sunday. The total number of cases in the cluster has risen to 11.

Earlier, a spokesperson for Tuen Mun Hospital revealed that two patients confirmed with Covid-19 passed away earlier on Thursday, bringing the total number of coronavirus-linked deaths to 81.

Both patients – an 81-year-old woman and a 70-year-old man – had chronic illnesses and were admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital on August 7 and July 21 respectively.