Hong Kong

Hong Kong is in talks of declaring COVID-19 an 'endemic' disease, as per the top government pandemic advisers. Such an action would lead to the absolute abandonment of constraints, including isolation orders for infected patients. 

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A day after Macau declared the virus an endemic and eased many monitoring efforts, Hong Kong authorities shared similar plans. 

Apart from the Special Administrative Regions (SAR), mainland China has relaxed restrictions. Isolation is no longer mandatory for people who tested positive, South China Morning Post reported.

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Chief Executive of Hong Kong, John Lee Ka-Chiu, said that the government would observe the situation closely before taking any decision. "I remind people here that the World Health Organization has not changed its classification of Covid-19. So we will also be watching for the possibility of variants developing," he said. However, he believes that the statistics and data indicate that the factors are under control. 

Furthermore, government pandemic adviser Professor Ivan Hung Fan-Ngai from Hong Kong University backed mainland China's decision to declare COVID-19 an endemic due to the robust hybrid immunity amongst the citizens. Hung cited many figures and assured the country would treat COVID-19 as any other upper respiratory virus.

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In September 2021, pandemic adviser Professor Yuen Kwok-Yung published an article on COVID-19 that pointed towards the virus's deep-rooted presence in the country. However, masks are necessary to stop the spread of the virus, especially during the winter season, said Yuen.

"Masking is to protect the Hospital Authority from being overwhelmed because there is no immunity among children less than three years old,"

he said.

However, there's a difference of opinion amongst the pandemic advisors. For instance, Professor Lau Yu-lung believes that isolation should continue for a while as the country has opened its borders. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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