Hong Kong ends mask mandate, one of the world’s last

Hong Kong — one of the last holdouts in the world for legally mandated masking, indoors and outside or on public transportation — is dropping the last of its coronavirus restrictions starting Wednesday.

Chief Executive John Lee on Tuesday announced the scrapping of the mask mandate as the pandemic “has been largely contained” with “no major spike in the number of cases so far.” High-risk locations such as hospitals or homes for the elderly could still require visitors to keep masks on, he added.