A protest march against the government's controversial e-voucher scheme scheduled for this afternoon has been called off because it would have breached the government's COVID-19 prevention rules, the Health Bureau (SSM) and the organisers of the demonstration have announced separately.
A statement by the Health Bureau last night said it had requested the organisers to cancel the protest march as the latter could not ensure adherence to the government's novel coronavirus prevention regulations.
One of the organisers, non-establishment lawmaker Au Kam San, told the media last night that he and his co-organisers decided not to go ahead with the march as they were keen to avoid "misunderstanding" and make sure that no-one would be accused by the authorities of holding an illegal gathering.
The protest had initially been green-lighted by the authorities. However, a meeting between the Health Bureau and the organisers yesterday resulted in the demonstration's cancellation for health protection reasons.
The organisers had announced earlier that they expected 500 people to join the march from Praca do Tap Seac to Government Headquarters in Nam Van.
Macau has a population of about 680,000. Thanks to strict COVID-19 prevention measures Macau has recorded only 48 novel coronavirus patients all of whom have meanwhile been discharged from hospital.
The protesters planned to demonstrate against the government's third-round of financial support measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming that its proposed e-voucher scheme was "too complicated." The government responded to the widespread opposition to the scheme, which it had announced earlier this month, by lawmakers and civic leaders by promising the review it and announce its amendments in the near future.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng last week even apologised for the "confusion" that the scheme had caused.
