Hong Kong will prolong the mandatory wearing of masks in public places, despite planning a number of campaigns to show visitors and residents alike that the city has escaped the shadow of COVID-19.
The city extended the regulation by two weeks to March 8, according to a government gazette published late Wednesday. That means the rule, enforceable by fines of up to 10,000 Hong Kong dollars ($1,275), will be in place for almost 1,000 days.
The move comes as the government seeks to attract tourists and overseas workers to help revive the battered economy. Though Hong Kong leader John Lee has said a number of times he hopes to remove the rule after the winter surge ends, he has yet to be more specific.