HK scraps isolation rule for new Covid cases

HONG KONG: Hong Kong will scrap its mandatory isolation rule for people infected with the coronavirus from January 30 as part of its strategy to return the southern Chinese city to normalcy, the city's leader said on Thursday.

For most of the pandemic over the last three years, Hong Kong has aligned itself with China's "zero Covid" strategy, requiring those who tested positive to undergo quarantine. Many residents once had to be sent to hospitals or government-run quarantine facilities even when their symptoms were mild.