Addressing yesterday’s weekly press conference about Macau’s novel coronavirus situation, the Health Bureau’s (SSM) Control of Communicable Diseases and Surveillance of Diseases Department Coordinator Leong Iek Hou announced that from today certain foreign nationals without a Macau ID card, such as the spouses or offspring of a Macau resident, can apply to return to Macau after travelling to the mainland with a mainland visa, as long as they have not been to any countries or regions outside the mainland or Macau in the 21 days prior to their entry into Macau.
According to the Leong, the new measure, which took effect at 00:00 today, is a minor change to the Macau government’s measure for special entries for certain foreign nationals that was rolled out in December last year.
According to the previous version of the measure, which was in force between December last year and yesterday, the foreigners could apply to enter Macau as long as they had been staying in the mainland for at least 21 days prior to their arrival here, while under the updated version, they can now apply to enter Macau as long as they have not been to any places outside the mainland or Macau in the 21 days prior to their entry into Macau.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign nationals without a Macau ID card have, in general, been barred from entering Macau since March last year.
According to Leong, the new measure announced yesterday enables foreigners holding a permit to stay in Macau and a mainland visa to regularly travel between Macau and the mainland to return to Macau without having to stay in the mainland for at least 21 days.
Health Bureau (SSM) Control of Communicable Diseases and Surveillance of Diseases Department Coordinator Leong Iek Hou (left) speaks during yesterday’s press conference about the city’s novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, as Tai Wai Hou, the coordinator of the bureau’s COVID-19 vaccination programme, looks on. Photo: Tony Wong
According to the Macau government’s previous announcements, its measure allowing foreigners under certain circumstances to apply for permission to enter Macau from the mainland, which started in December last year, covers 1) the spouse or offspring of a Macau resident, 2) non-resident workers (informally known as “blue-card” holders) or those who have obtained an official permit to work in Macau as a non-resident worker, and their family members who have obtained or are eligible to obtain a permit to stay in Macau, 3) those who have obtained a special permit to reside in Macau, 4) those who have been admitted to local higher education institutions, and 5) those visiting Macau for important commercial, academic or other professional activities.
On March 16, the Macau government relaxed its entry ban on foreign nationals without a Macau ID card, according to which they have been allowed to enter Macau providing they meet two conditions, namely 1) returning to Macau after travelling to the mainland from Macau with a mainland visa issued by the Office of the Commissioner of the Foreign Ministry in Macau, and 2) not having been to any countries or regions outside the mainland or Macau in the 21 days prior to their entry into Macau. Under the measure which was rolled out on March 16, the foreign nationals must return to Macau within the period of validity of their respective mainland visas for them to be allowed to return to Macau.
During yesterday’s press conference, Leong gave an example of in which circumstances foreigners are covered by the new measure. “For example, according to the current [now-defunct] rule, a foreign national [without a Macau ID card] living in Macau for a long time who has visited the mainland with a mainland visa that is not issued by the Office of the Commissioner of the Foreign Ministry in Macau could only apply to return to Macau after having stayed in the mainland for at least 21 days,” Leong said.
“According to the new rule, this person who has travelled to the mainland from Macau can immediately apply to return to Macau without having to stay in the mainland for at least 21 days,” Leong said.
“The new measure aims to make it more convenient for eligible foreign nationals to travel between Macau and the mainland,” Leong said.
Leong also said that with the implementation of the new measure, the Health Bureau has launched an online application system for the eligible foreign nationals so that they can submit the required documents online. Before today, an application for special entry into Macau for foreigners under certain circumstances could only be made by email, letter, or in person.
The new measure announced by yesterday’s press conference was also announced in an executive order signed by Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng and published in the Official Gazette (BO) yesterday.
No local COVID-19 cases for 401 days
Macau has not recorded a new COVID-19 case for 27 days, while no local cases have been confirmed in 401 days.
Macau has recorded 49 COVID-19 cases since January 22 last year, 47 of which have been classified as imported, while two cases have been classified as “connected to imported cases”. The 49 patients have all been cured and discharged from hospital, and no fatalities have been reported in Macau, which has been spared a community transmission of the novel coronavirus disease.
Over 109,000 jabs
As of 4 p.m. yesterday, 109,255 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered to 71,719 people in Macau, comprising 34,045 who had received their first jab and 37,674 who had received their second jab.
A total of nine adverse events were reported in the past 24 hours (until 4 p.m. yesterday). The total number of adverse events since the start of the vaccination drive stood at 498, or 0.46 percent of the total number of jabs, including two serious cases.
66 pct vaccination rate among medical professionals
Meanwhile, Tai Wa Hou, the coordinator of the Health Bureau’s COVID-19 vaccination programme, said during yesterday’s press conference that over 4,600 out of Macau’s about 7,000 medical professionals – in both the public and private sectors – have received at least one COVID-19 jab. Tai said that this means that Macau’s COVID-19 vaccination rate among medical professionals has so far reached 66 percent, which he pointed out is much higher than the vaccination rate for the general population – which has so far reached just about 10 percent.
Tai said that about 7,500 doses have been administered to about 4,600 medical professionals, meaning that 107 doses have been administered per 100 medical professionals in Macau, he said.
Consequently, Tai said he believed that COVID-19 herd immunity has been created among Macau’s medical professionals.
Tai said he also believed that medical professionals have a higher desire to be inoculated against COVID-19 than residents in general as the former have a better understanding of COVID-19 vaccination’s safety, effectiveness and urgency than the latter. Tai said that only a small number of medical professionals in Macau have chosen not to be inoculated against COVID-19 due to their respective special health conditions such as being pregnant or allergic to COVID-19 vaccines.
Tai underlined hat medical workers are working on the frontline against COVID-19 so that they have the duty and obligation to be inoculated against COVID-19, adding that his bureau believes that no incentives or special measures are needed to encourage them to have jabs.
Outreach vaccinations for more higher education institutions
Meanwhile, Tai also said that about 1,500 out of 1,700 University of Macau (UM) students, teaching and other staff who had signed up for COVID-19 jabs during last week’s outreach COVID-19 vaccination period on the university’s campus got their first jab during the three-day period. Tai said that those who had signed up and did not get their jab comprised those who did not show up and those who were assessed by medical workers as not suitable for being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Tai also reaffirmed that his bureau is discussing with the University of Macau the possibility of second on-campus COVID-19 jabs for those who received their first shot during last week’s outreach vaccination period.
Currently, the University of Macau has 11,414 students.
Tai also revealed that his bureau is discussing with the public Macau Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) and Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM) as well as the private Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) and City University of Macau the schedules for their respective outreach COVID-19 vaccination programme. Tai said that on-site inoculations for the Macau Polytechnic Institute will get off the ground in the near future.
Meanwhile, Tai also said that the government was studying the possibility of lifting its requirement for participants of certain events to undergo a nucleic acid test (NAT) if they have been inoculated twice against COVID-19, with the aim of encouraging more residents to get their jabs.
