Hong Kong is scrapping mandatory isolation for Covid patients by January 30... with the Chief Executive John Lee describing the change as an important step towards the city's return to normality. People won't have to report their infections any more, and those who don't have any symptoms are free to go back to work. But as Damon Pang reports, students who contract the virus will still be asked to stay at home until they test negative for Covid-19:

'Govt should issue sick leave guidelines to avoid Covid confusion'

A respiratory disease specialist, Leung Chi-chiu, says he thinks it's too risky for the government to allow asymptomatic Covid patients to go to work starting from the end of this month. He thinks more needs to be done to protect vulnerable groups. He spoke to Damon Pang:

The National Health Commission says the mainland has passed the peak period of Covid -- in terms of the number of patients in fever clinics, emergency rooms and in a critical condition. Authorities also note that business is up, as Andrew Chworowsky reports:

The government has said it plans to build a new town for more homes in the southernmost part of Tseung Kwan O. The Development Bureau has identified the 80-hectare "Area 137" to be transformed into a residential area where about 135,000 people can live. Frank Yung reports:

Sai Kung District Councillor Christine Fong has warned that there's considerable opposition among Tseung Kwan O residents against government plans to build a new town in the south of the district. She says many people there are worried about the impact of the needed reclamation and massive infrastructure works, saying they would cause a major nuisance, on top of generating lots of noise and air pollution. She spoke to RTHK's Vicky Wong:

The Bar Association says it would be "undesirable" for a complete ban on overseas counsel for all national security cases. The comments came after Beijing's first interpretation of the national security law. Victor Dawes, who was re-elected as the chair of the professional group on Thursday, said he believed it'd be "more acceptable to the public" if the there is more flexibility to allow foreign barristers to join some national security cases:

The Travel Industry Council has called on the government to roll out a HK$100 million recovery fund to help tourism-related firms restart their business. Fanny Yeung, the council's executive director, said many are struggling to cope with tourist numbers that are a far cry from those before the pandemic. She spoke to Kelly Yu:

Chief Executive John Lee has pledged to improve the online booking system for PCR tests so that people won’t have to queue up for hours at some centres, while others have plenty of free slots. Here's Hailey Yip:

New Zealand's Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, has announced that she won't be pursuing another term, as she doesn't have enough "in the tank" to do the job for a further four years. The election is due in October, but Ardern says she plans to resign in early February, meaning it is a race against time for her Labour party to select a successor. RTHK's Annemarie Evans asked Radio New Zealand journalist Kirsty Frame if Ardern's resignation was a shock: