Hong Kong’s love-hate relationship with Covid-19 masks: from panic buying to lining up for limited-edition designer runs
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With a penchant for dressing sharply, Hongkonger Berry Chan Kin-wah would sometimes choose a face mask that complemented his outfit.
The 25-year-old said he once paid HK$200 (US$25) for 24 face coverings sold exclusively at concerts by the city’s hottest boy band, Mirror, and would queue up for the latest limited-edition runs sold when fashion brands teamed up with mask manufacturers.
“I think it has kind of become a fashion item given that even celebrities have been selling their own masks as concert merchandise,” he said.
The degree to which masks have become ubiquitous – and even morphed into a much-talked-about item among trendsetters – in Hong Kong stands in stark contrast with the panic Covid-19 sowed when it emerged at the start of 2020.
More than 900 days after the mask mandate was introduced, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced on Tuesday that Hong Kong would the following day join the rest of the world in ditching the rule.
As waves of cases came and went, stores specialising in masks steadily sprang up across neighbourhoods, offering an array of types, colours and patterns. Ones featuring popular cartoon characters offered children at least a little bright spot in what was otherwise a difficult regime for them to follow properly.