HK court rules that blanket ban on masks is unconstitutional

Hong Kong pro-democracy veteran Leung Kwok-hung speaks to members of the media before the Court of Appeal's ruling on the anti-mask law in Hong Kong, China April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Jessie Pang

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong's Court of Appeal on Thursday ruled that a blanket government ban on face masks was unconstitutional, at a time when most Hong Kong people are wearing them in the hope of warding off the new coronavirus.

Partially overturning a lower court's ruling, a three-judge panel said that while the government had the right to ban the wearing of masks at unlawful assemblies, a ban on masks at legal public gatherings was unconstitutional.