Secretary for Health Lo Chung Mau on Saturday said that Hong Kong will likely enter the peak winter flu season next week, which is later than expected but not uncommon.

Speaking on a HOY TV programme, Lo Chung Mau said once the weather turned cold around Christmas, authorities had expected the peak to follow soon after.

"People gathered a lot during the recent holidays, and many travelled abroad and returned, including overseas students. We are likely to see a rise in respiratory infections, including COVID-19 and influenza. We expected the peak to occur between January and February. Generally speaking, our winter peak often lasts until March," he said.

Lo added that Hong Kong has entered a "new mode" of responding to flu and Covid-19, and that vaccines are the most effective prevention method.

The health minister went on to say that there was no need to implement mandatory measures, such as mask mandates and mandatory sampling of inbound travellers again.

"Also, if we test travellers at the border or airport, there would be a lot of negative impact, especially since Hong Kong is now in a stage of recovery. We also do not see any signs of new pathogens emerging."