Maybe I should take the professor's advice and put on two masks the next time I go out for my takeaways now that we are no longer allowed to dine out at any of our favorite restaurants because of Omicron fears.

Or should I?

Doesn't it look just as silly as protecting your bed with two covers as playfully recommended by Ikea? Would someone take Ikea's funny idea seriously? I really don't think so.

A day ago, University of Hong Kong's Covid detective Yuen Kwok-yung brought up the seemingly crazy idea of wearing double masks in place of the choking N95 respirators as a defense against the imminent threat of Omicron.

Yuen may have scientific grounds to back his claim, but it's disputable whether double masking can strike the right balance.

Without a doubt, it would be in everybody's interest to understand Omicron better, and Yuen and his peers should explain to the public how Omicron waves are trending elsewhere and how they are being dealt with.

It has been over a month since the variant was first reported in South Africa and enough clinical data has been collected. South Africa believes it has survived the worst moment with minimal hospitalizations and deaths.

In the UK, Omicron outbreaks are still raging but the waves in London have begun subsiding with relatively low hospitalizations and deaths. Across Britain, the daily count of new cases is declining as rapidly as it had increased in the early stage of the Omicron outbreaks.

Pressure on the public health system is still high but hopefully will start to ease towards the end of January or early February.

Caution is needed - but panic is utterly unwarranted as we get to understand the virus more.

Wearing two masks certainly offers better protection - but it is not free of drawbacks. It is not just about shortness of breath or the environmental impact, but underlines those panic-driven sacrifices that could have been avoided.

US White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci was the first person to call for double masks exactly a year ago.

Since then, his suggestion has become a laughing stock in America.

Admittedly, it's amusing to see how Ikea made fun of the suggestion to suit a marketing gimmick.

Perhaps that's the Hong Kong spirit that has made the city great: in the face of adversity, don't lose a sense of humor to help keep spirits high.

Yuen's mask call is much appreciated - whether it is to be taken seriously or not, it certainly shows a sense of humor.

Frankly, humor is the last thing to expect from the professor, whose iconic straight face is hardly impressive whenever he descends in a Sherlock Holmes hat on a restaurant or housing estate to declare vertical transmission.

Wasn't it scary to see someone wearing four masks on a bus yesterday?

During the Covid pandemic, let's not panic but try to stay humorous for the betterment of our mental health.

Thanks for your humor, professor.

Prof can't mask the humor