The Macau government has extended its hotel quarantine period for arrivals from Brazil and Nepal from 21 days to 28 days.
The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced the stricter quarantine measure for arrivals from the two countries, which took effect at 00:00 today, in a statement yesterday.
A week ago, the Macau government extended its hotel quarantine period for arrivals from India, Pakistan and the Philippines from 21 days to 28 days.
From now on, those who have been to a foreign country other than Brazil, India, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines within 21 days prior to their entry into Macau must undergo 21 days of quarantine and medical observation at one of the government’s “quarantine hotels” upon their arrival here. After completing the 21-day quarantine, they are then required to practise seven days of “self-health management”.
Foreign nationals without a Macau ID card have, in general, been barred from entering Macau since March last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, regardless of where they have been before their intended entry into Macau.
Under the new measure which took effect at 00:00 today, those who have been to Brazil or Nepal within 28 days prior to their entry into Macau must undergo 28 days of quarantine and medical observation at one of the government’s “quarantine hotels” upon their arrival here. After completing the 28-day quarantine, according to yesterday’s statement, they will not need to undergo “self-health management”.
Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan residents who have been to a foreign country within 21 days prior to their intended entry into Macau are also barred from entering the city.
Macau residents, including foreign nationals holding a Macau ID card, are allowed to return to Macau from a foreign country, but have to undergo the 21-day hotel quarantine plus the seven-day “self-health management” if arriving from a foreign country other than Brazil, India, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines, or the 28-day hotel quarantine if arriving from one of the five countries.
Yesterday’s statement by the centre said that the Macau government has decided to toughen its quarantine requirement for arrivals from Brazil and Nepal “due to the latest development of these countries’ COVID-19 epidemic situations”.
Yesterday’s statement also said that the new 28-day quarantine measure also applies to those arriving from Brazil or Nepal who had not completed their 21-day hotel quarantine before the measure took effect at 00:00 today – i.e. they will have to stay an additional seven days in their hotel guestrooms.
5 on chartered plane from Kathmandu test positive for COVID-19 in antibody tests
Meanwhile, the centre announced in another statement last night that five out of 10 passengers who flew in on a chartered flight from Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu yesterday tested positive for the novel coronavirus in their antibody tests, also known as serology tests, upon their arrival at the local airport.
The statement did not mention whether the 10 passengers are Macau residents, merely identifying them as 10 “individuals”. Neither did the statement mention their genders.
Last night’s statement said that four of the five tested negative for COVID-19 in a nucleic acid test (NAT) yesterday, but the NAT result of the remaining one was “inconclusive” because of which, the statement said, he or she will need to undergo a follow-up nucleic acid test today.
However, the statement added that the Health Bureau (SSM) “has not ruled out the possibility” that he or she had previously been infected with the novel coronavirus and had recovered elsewhere but “has now tested positive for the virus again”.
Concerning the four passengers who tested negative for COVID-19 in their nucleic acid tests but positive for the virus in their antibody tests yesterday, the Health Bureau has concluded that they had previously been infected with the novel coronavirus and had recovered elsewhere, according to the statement.
The Health Bureau has said that the fact that some COVID-19 patients discharged from hospital or asymptomatic carriers of the novel coronavirus have later tested positive for the virus again is “merely a phenomenon”, which means that they have not had a relapse, i.e. suffering COVID-19 symptoms again.
According to last night’s statement, the other five individuals among the 10 passengers tested negative for COVID-19 in both nucleic acid tests and antibody tests yesterday.
The statement said that “for the sake of caution”, the Health Bureau has meanwhile transferred all 10 passengers to its Public Health Clinical Centre in Coloane for follow up medical examinations.
A healthcare worker inoculates a man with the dose of Covishield vaccine against the COVID-19 at a health post near the town of Lukla in north-eastern Nepal on Friday. – AFP
