The strongest predictor of how the places did were vaccination rates. According to Tourism Malaysia, 396,000 Filipino tourists visited the Southeast Asian country in 2018. By Sarah Jacoby. Masking up is still a requirement with a number of airlines: Air France, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Pakistan International Airlines, South African Airways and Malaysian, to name a few. However, Mexico still has various internal restrictionsincluding mandatory masks in most indoor spaces, social distancing rules, and self-isolation rules. "It's not a good time to drop the interventions that we know have been effective. The states masking rule for businesses and workplaces expired on Feb. 11. Actor Woody Harrelson held nothing back during a February interview with The New York Times where he blasted mandates and COVID-19 protocols. A young woman wears a KN95 mask in downtown Salt Lake City on Jan. 26, 2022. At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. "You must wear your mask at all times throughout the flight, except when eating or drinking," is Egyptair's position. Sign in to listen to groundbreaking journalism. Flight crews have been subject to even more demanding requirements than passengers in many places. Always keeping an ear close to the ground, Matt's industry insights, analysis and news coverage is frequently relied upon by some of the biggest names in journalism. These interventions made travel safer and possible, especially for senior citizens during the pandemic, says Toole, who is age 75. 3. While most countries across the globe opened up in a phased manner with the majority relaxing the mask mandate much earlier, Hong Kong continued to follow the line set by Beijing. Mask mandates are still in effect in a small number of places. Tourists along the promenade in the Tsim Sha Tsui area in Hong Kong, on Feb. 28, 2023. Thousands died, many of them seniors who had not been vaccinated. This move seeks to relax public health measures for economic and social activities. The virus is under control in Hong Kong with no major signs of a rebound, the city's leader John Lee said. The Hang Seng index fell 0.69% as Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee announced to drop its mask mandate starting March 1. With the removal of the mask mandate, Hong Kong will return to normal all around, and in this year and the coming year will go all out for the economy and development at full speed, Mr. Lee said. Your body temperature is measured when you enter an airport and again before boarding the plane. Hong Kong largely avoided mass outbreaks in the first two years of the pandemic by imposing tight border controls and social distancing policies, in an attempt to bring its caseload as close to zero as possible. But testing isn't 100% accurate and people aren't always 100% responsible for self-testing. The population has fallen by a net 187,000 in the three years through 2022 as residents fled for other cities. (The authorities see gloves as a deterrent to infection even though the value of gloves as a pandemic measure has been debated and basically debunked). Read more:Hong Kong announces further easing of COVID-19 curbs. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. A young woman wears a KN95 mask in downtown Salt Lake City on Jan. 26, 2022. However, the situation is still in flux, with mandates often lifted or reinstated on a day-to-day basis as cases surge or wane in a given country or new COVID-19 variants emerge. In February, Spain became the last country in Europe to drop its airplane mask mandate, while Japan will only relax mask recommendations from March 13. In 2019, the US was home to more than four million Filipinos. Although masks were not required in outdoor settings where social distancing was possible. Anyone can read what you share. Here is a list. But in mid-March the rules were revised; PPEs are no longer required for cabin crew onboard. Researchers found city-level vaccine mandates to have, at most, a negligible effect on She also noted that people who have tested positive for COVID-19 or been exposed to it should continue to mask, regardless of what risk-level their community has. In a press conference on April 20, the director of the Pan American Health Organization, Dr. Carissa Etienne, noted: "The WHO's emergency committee last week declared that the COVID health pandemic still constitutes an extraordinary event that continues to adversely affect the health of populations around the world. Hong Kong is one of the last cities globally to still have a mask mandate. But some remain - primary and secondary school students still need to test daily for Covid, although some reports say this measure could be lifted later this month. And there are still some inflight announcements about infection prevention for instance, reminding passengers not to touch their face, In China and other countries you'll also need medical documents in order to fly. When asked why it dropped its universal masking recommendation for schools, the CDC said the lower risk of serious COVID-19 illness in kids was a factor. Overall, Hong Kongs economy contracted by 6.1 percent in 2020; it rebounded in 2021, but shrank again in 2022. Next month will see Hong Kong host the biggest series of international events since often-violent protests in 2019shut downmuch of the city, including a music festival, Art Basel and the Rugby Sevens tournament. The majority of the country would now be considered low-to-medium risk. As the world continues to live and adapt to the pandemic, several countries, including the Philippines, have lifted the face mask requirement. For business its a game changer, said Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Holdings Ltd. Before, a lot of people would stay away from Hong Kong because the mask was showing that we were still stuck in the Covid days.. - Masks4All, Europe Travel: No Masks Needed In These EU Countries - Forbes, Countries That Have Removed All Internal Covid Restrictions - Travel Off Path, Some countries in Latin America end face mask rules - AA. "In this year and the coming year, we will go all out for the economy and development at full speed.". Estonia has no mask rules at this time. The new guidance recommends that people who are at high-risk of COVID-19 complications should talk to their doctor about how to stay safe in a community that might have moderate risk levels. The omicron wave, which infected a vast majority of the country, also boosted the nation's immunity from prior infection for the timebeing. The virus is under control in Hong Kong with no major signs of a rebound, the city's leader John Lee said. What's he waiting for? Walensky said that a review of that requirement is ongoing and a decision will be made in the weeks ahead. As the country continued to curb the cases in 2022, Malaysia lifted the indoor mask mandate in most public areas. Hong Kongs mask mandate has been in effect since July 2020. As the country continued to curb the cases in 2022, Malaysia lifted the indoor mask mandate in most public areas. According to reports, the country saw an exodus of 187,000 people in the last three years as residents escaped to safer pastures. China's airlines have become a bit less strict than in the early days of the pandemic when in-flight announcements would urge passengers not to chitchat during the flight. Although many indoor mask mandates are implemented at the city and county level, six states still have mandates in place: California, Hawaii, Illinois, New Mexico, In a press conference Tuesday, Chief Executive John Lee said residents and tourists will not be required to wear masks indoors, outdoors or on public transportation for the first time in nearly three years. The airline is, however, aware that many Hong Kongers may feel nervous about being around unmasked passengers or crew members for long periods in these cases, the airline has asked nervous passengers not to fly until they feel comfortable around unmasked seatmates. However, the government has suggested that face coverings be worn in: France has stated that face masks would no longer be compulsory in public places that require vaccination passes. Hong Kong had one of the worlds longest and strictest mask mandates which required people to wear a face mask in nearly all public settings, including outside in the open air. However many locals could be seen still wearing masks on Wednesday, local media reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had, earlier last week, released new guidelines suggesting that 70 percent of Americans no longer needed to wear masks and needn't avoid crowded spaces. Most states either don't have a statewide mask mandate in place or have announced plans to drop their mandates soon. Subscribe to The Defender's Top News of the Day.It's free. Most previous work focused on mask mandates; we study the effect of mask wearing directly. Passengers are required to wear medical surgical, KN95 or N95 masks from the time of check-in at the airport through the duration of the flight and until you leave the airport. Some criticised the rule's duration and its sudden scrapping - amid wider criticism of the city's pandemic policies for the past three years. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Mateusz Maszczynski honed his skills as an international flight attendant. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News. Vietnam is cited as one of the success stories in its fight against COVID-19 and has fared better economically than many other countries. Read more:Hong Kong's population declines for a third consecutive year; Chinese influence to be blamed, China spending billions on spreading disinformation about Ukraine war, says US special envoy, 'Hello Hong Kong' mission kicks off with half a million free air tickets on offer, Zero to 100 in under 5 minutes: Redmi unveils 300W fastest charger. ABC News' Britt Clennett contributed to this report. In South Korea, for instance, they are still required on public transportation, as well as in hospitals and pharmacies. Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times. The move comes as the government seeks to attract tourists and overseas workers to revitalize the finance hub. The move will come into effect from March 1 and suggests that the administration is looking to restore some semblance of normalcy. Face masks must still be worn in closed spaces. The mask mandate for domestic U.S. flights has been lifted although it might come back. Under the mandate, which took effect in July 2020, people who failed to wear masks in public could be fined about $635. Places where social distancing is not followed. Because many locations are allowed to determine their own mandates on masks, some outbreaks have occurred. LinkedIn has officially entered its cringe era, and its working. In addition to masks, passengers are asked to bring their own gloves as an optional additional precautionary measure. Hong Kong will stop requiring masks to be worn in public places from Wednesday, drawing to a close the prolonged Covid era that damaged its economy and standing in the world. Actor Woody Harrelson held nothing back during a February interview with The New York Times where he blasted mandates and COVID-19 protocols. According to Tourism Malaysia, 396,000 Filipino Mask mandates stretching for years on end are going to run out of steam in terms of how effective they are, Dr. Sridhar said. The same thing has happened in some countries in Latin America: Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, for Additionally, Hong Kong's population shrunk dramatically during the Covid period. With mask mandates going away, is that helpful. In a press call with reporters, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky cautioned that COVID was unpredictable and that these conditions could change that put hospitals at risk of once again being overloaded. More than 70% of Americans should be able to remove their masks indoors, including inside schools, under new metrics outlined Friday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that represent a seismic shift in how the public health agency plans to measure COVID-19 risk. South African Airways requires that children over 5 and adults must have a negative PCR test taken 72 hours prior to departure for all international flights, and must complete a "Traveler Health Questionnaire" on arrival, asking such things as, "Did you change your seat during the trip?". "With the masking requirement removed, we are starting to resume to normalcy comprehensively and that will be very beneficial to the economic development, our international competitiveness, as well as our activities which involve everyone in Hong Kong," Lee said. April 20, 2022, 10:00 AM UTC. England has lifted the legal mandate on face coverings. In the end, the government gave little more than a days notice that the mandate would be scrapped seemingly in response to a similar policy shift from the autonomous region of Macau which is also able to set various policies independently of Beijing. Compared to other countries, vaccinations in Japan have been slow to roll out to the public. Photo/Matthew Busch/The New York Times / Various masks hang at a home in Austin, Texas, on Dec. 20, 2022. Sign up here. All Rights Reserved. Other Covid curbs in Hong Kong included strict quarantine rules, limitations on the number of people gathering in public places, as well as restricting visitors in nursing homes. The past three years of global isolation have weighed heavily on the citys economy and reputation. Gross domestic product shrank 3.5% in 2022, contracting for the third time in four years. (At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Based on that risk level, which could fluctuate, a community could opt to remove mask recommendations indoors or pull back on other mitigation measures, such as surveillance testing. But Prime Minister Jean Castex said Thursday that restrictions there would gradually lift with mask and remote work mandates easing early next month and In 2022, there were 126,900 Filipinos who visited the country. They still use shields and gloves. Matt is passionate about the aviation industry and has become an expert in passenger experience and human-centric stories. However, after China dropped several of its stringent policies in December 2022 and Hong Kong followed suit, it led to a surge of cases not seen since March 2022, according to Our World in Data, which uses data from Johns Hopkins University. Thailand was able to keep the number of COVID-19 cases low in the early stages of the pandemic in 2020 due to its early lockdown and effective contact tracing strategy. Many countries have also implemented mask mandates in fact, more than the number of countries that have imposed vaccine mandates. The virus is under control in Hong Kong with no major signs of a rebound, the city's leader John Lee said. The Hang Seng Tech index meanwhile, fell 1.42%. As of April 2022, masks are required to be worn at all times when leaving the home, mandatory testing and quarantine centers have been reopened, and many schools and non-essential businesses have been temporarily closed again. Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times. The U.S. isn't the only country to have dropped mask requirements. It's too premature," says Mike Toole, a founding member of Medicins sans Frontiers in Australia and an associate research fellow at Burnet Institute whose work revolves around infectious diseases and international health. On Tuesday, Hong Kong recorded just 96 COVID-19 cases, according to Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection. Malaysia experienced two waves of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, but the political crisis doomed its COVID-19 response. After much criticism, the Hong Kong authorities in December last year decided to lift its contentious "amber code," which forced residents to use an app to enter any venue. Learn more. Thepopulationhas fallen by a net 187,000 in the three years through 2022 as residents fled for other cities. WATCH | Why Hong Kong residents are rushing to get Covid-19 vaccination? Masks are The guidance also is intended to give local officials a roadmap to re-imposing restrictions if another variant pops up, which health experts warn is a possibility. Hong Kong had dropped most other pandemic restrictions by earlier this year. "None of us know what the future holds for us and for this virus," Walensky said. "After looking at all the data, the trends and the fact that the winter surge [of influenza] is nearing the end, in order to give people a very clear message that Hong Kong is resuming to normalcy, I think this is the right time to make the decision," Lee said. El Salvador no longer requires masks in public spaces. This is an indication that Filipinos have found value in wearing a mask and would really want to protect themselves and their families, Vergeire said. Emirates Wants to Massively Expand its Operations in India By Adding 50,000 Seats Per Week. WATCH |Why Hong Kong residents are rushing to get Covid-19 vaccination? 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