The WHO announced that the Covid epidemic situation no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.

The spokesman said after lifting the mandatory mask-wearing requirement in early March, all anti-epidemic measures applicable to the general public were lifted, and society has fully resumed normalcy.

He added that Covid is now managed as per general upper respiratory tract illness, while the focus of anti-epidemic measures is the protection of the high-risk groups.

All patients, visitors and staff are currently required to wear a surgical mask while entering public hospitals or healthcare facilities. Though there is no restriction on the number of visitors, only two are allowed to enter the ward simultaneously for each patient. And the visiting hours of public hospitals are currently still limited.

Furthermore, the "Preparedness and Response Plan for Novel Infectious Disease of Public Health Significance" of the government remains at its highest level as Emergency Response Level. Depending on the different Response Levels, bureaux and departments will take different levels of public health response measures.

As the number of locally infected cases keeps climbing recently, the spokesman said the government would closely monitor the situation of Covid mutations and the risks.

It will also refer to WHO's latest advice to appraise the epidemic prevention and control response level and adjust the remaining arrangements for the epidemic accordingly.