Hong Kong government tightens crew quarantine measures, Cathay Pacific announces "new masks regulations" causing controversy
[Global Times reporter Yuming] The fourth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong is severe. The SAR government recently tightened crew quarantine measures, but Cathay Pacific went the other way.
According to a report from the Oriental Daily News on the 7th, Cathay Pacific issued an internal notice to the crew that all passengers must wear masks, and listed a number of exemptions from wearing masks, including “when passengers are lying flat in business class or first class” or "Eating or taking medication within 15 minutes" etc.
Some employees criticized the employers for ignoring the epidemic. Zhang Shuhong, the president of the Civil Aviation Union, also said that passengers can take off their masks under the new guidelines. Many crew members are worried about accidentally contracting the epidemic while working or in close contact with these people, indicating that they do not agree with the relevant measures.
Cathay Pacific argued that the seats in first class and business class are relatively wide and separated, and the high-efficiency particulate air filtration system used in the cabin can filter more than 99.999% of dust particles and pollutants.