Hong Kong, China: Hongkongers will finally be able to leave the house without a face mask starting after almost a thousand days since the pandemic mandate was put in place.

The government declared that face coverings are no longer necessary indoors, outdoors, or on public transit, eliminating a rule that has been abandoned worldwide as people learn to coexist with the coronavirus. One of the last places on Earth to mandate mask use outside was Hong Kong, where offenders faced steep fines.

The government’s attempt to attract visitors and foreign talent home to rebuild the recession-hit economy coincides with the mask move. In a place where multiple waves of COVID infections have likely given rise to a high level of immunity, public health experts have begun to question the necessity of a mask mandate.

It was deemed hazardous to schoolchildren by lawmakers. Also, business organisations and tourism specialists complained that it was harming the city’s reputation abroad. The government’s eagerness to show that business as usual had resumed in the city and Lee’s promise to welcome visitors with “no isolation, no quarantine and no limitations” during the launch of the “Hello, Hong Kong” campaign earlier this month also seemed to conflict with the masking policy.

Online ire was directed at the mask-free dancers in the campaign’s promotional film for exaggerating the reality of a city where facial coverings were common and strictly enforced with fines of up to $1,275. According to official statistics, Hong Kong had issued more than 22,000 tickets for mask offences by the end of 2022 and had received $14.22 million in fines.

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