Health Secretary Lo Chung-mau said on Thursday that Hong Kong's major relaxation of Covid rules may lead to an increase in infection numbers, but the healthcare system is now more capable of handling outbreaks than it was before.

The vaccine pass scheme, outdoor gathering limit and quarantine for close contacts of infected people are among the pandemic measures that have now been dropped.

On an RTHK programme, Lo said the scrapping of various curbs from Thursday is not a sudden move, but part of a gradual and orderly relaxation that has been going on for months.

“People have now learned more about Covid and how to deal with it. We believe now is the time to switch from government-led infection control to handing over the responsibilities and the rights to the people,” he said.

Lo said the vaccination rate is higher than it was at the beginning of the year and the healthcare system has become more resilient, with the introduction of tele-consultations, medicine deliveries and collaboration with the private sector.

“All these have greatly increased our capacity in tackling the epidemic,” he said.

A government expert adviser, Lau Yu-long, told the same programme that when the daily Covid caseload falls to between 15,000 and 17,000 in a week or two, the authorities should consider scrapping mandatory isolation for infected people.