Addressing yesterday’s press conference about Macau’s novel coronavirus situation, Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long announced that the phased restoration of travel between Macau and Hong Kong without having to undergo quarantine under certain COVID-19 prevention requirements, such as having been inoculated against COVID-19 and undergoing a number of COVID-19 tests, will start if Hong Kong has zero new local COVID-19 cases for at least 28 consecutive days.
The health chief’s announcement came after Hong Kong had not recorded a new local COVID-19 case for 14 consecutive days as of yesterday.
In different phases of the implementation of quarantine-free travel arrangements between the two cities, there will be a limitation on the number of those travelling between the two special administrative regions, and only certain groups of people will be covered.
Lo also reassured residents that a “circuit breaker mechanism” on Macau-Hong Kong travel will be in place, according to which the quarantine exemption will be suspended in case either of the cities is hit by a local COVID epidemic.
Over the past few months, the Macau government has repeatedly underlined that it would start discussing with its Hong Kong counterpart details of the possible relaxation of border entry curbs between the two regions after Hong Kong has zero new local COVID-19 cases for at least 14 consecutive days.
Currently, all those arriving in Macau from Hong Kong must undergo 14 days of hotel quarantine. In general, those arriving in Hong Kong from Macau also have to quarantine for two weeks, but Hong Kong residents returning from Macau can apply to be exempted from the quarantine.
Macau has not recorded a new local COVID-19 case for 449 consecutive days.
‘Happy’ to see no cases in HK for 14 days
Speaking to reporters after inspecting the new COVID-19 vaccination facility at the Mong Ha Sports Centre yesterday morning – when it started operating, Lo said that he was “happy” to see that by yesterday Hong Kong had not recorded a new local COVID-19 case for 14 consecutive days, because of which, he said, the Macau government will start its discussions as scheduled with its Hong Kong counterpart about the possible relaxation of each other’s border entry restrictions.
During yesterday evening’s COVID-19 press conference, Lo said that Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U had a video conference with officials from Hong Kong’s Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau and those from other relevant public entities yesterday afternoon, during which the two sides have reached a consensus on the gradual relaxation of travel restrictions between the two regions as the COVID-19 epidemic in both cities has eased.
‘Conditional’ exemptions from quarantine
According to Lo, “conditional” exemptions from the Macau government’s quarantine requirement for arrivals from Hong Kong will be implemented if the neighbouring city has recorded zero new local COVID-19 cases for at least 28 consecutive days. Lo said that the quarantine exemption will be “gradually rolled out in phases”. In each phase, Lo said, there will be a certain quota of travellers to be covered by the quarantine exemption.
In addition to those arriving in Macau from Hong Kong, the quarantine exemption will also be implemented for those arriving in Hong Kong from Macau.
Lo underlined that as Hong Kong has now not recorded a new local COVID-19 case for 14 consecutive days, each side’s quarantine exemption will start if Hong Kong has zero new local COVID-19 cases for another 14 consecutive days from now.
Lo underlined that with the quarantine exemption getting off the ground, certain safety measures will be implemented for those travelling between the two cities. According to Lo, only those who have been inoculated against COVID-19 at least 14 days prior will be covered by the quarantine exemption. In addition, Lo said, the travellers must undergo several nucleic acid tests (NATs) before arriving in Macau. After arriving in Macau, Lo said, the travellers also must undergo several tests, adding that their activities in Macau will be “restricted” until they come up with negative results of all the required nucleic acid tests.
In addition, Lo said, a circuit breaker mechanism will be in place. “In case the COVID-19 epidemic situation changes [in either of the cities], the relaxation of travel restrictions [between the two regions] will be suspended, meaning that quarantine will be resumed again,” Lo said.
Lo underlined that the two governments have merely reached a “preliminary” consensus on certain proposals about how to implement the quarantine exemptions during yesterday afternoon’s meeting, adding that the Macau government could only announce details about the implementation of the quarantine exemption after it completes further discussions with its Hong Kong counterpart.
Those unable to get jabs
Lo also said that while having been inoculated against COVID-19 will be a requirement for those travelling between Macau and Hong Kong to be exempted from quarantine, exceptions will be in place for certain groups of people, such as those whose state of health does not make it possible for them to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Lo said that he believes that the two governments will come up with solutions for those who are unable to be inoculated against COVID-19 because of their state of health, such as requiring them to present a medical certificate confirming that they are unable to receive COVID-19 jabs so that they would still be allowed to travel between the two cities with the vaccination requirement in place for people in general. But Lo was quick to add that the Macau government would still need to discuss the details with its Hong Kong counterpart about how to implement the exceptions for these people.
During yesterday’s press conference, Lo was repeatedly asked by reporters for further details of the Macau-Hong Kong quarantine exemption. Lo reaffirmed that the Macau government would still need to discuss details in various aspects, such as the quotas of travellers for different phases of the implementation of the quarantine-free travel arrangements, and those to be covered by the scheme first (i.e. priority groups). Lo said that all these details could only get off the ground after both sides have reached a consensus on the matter, underlining that the Macau government would announce all the details once they are confirmed by both sides.
As of 4 p.m. yesterday, 296,817 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered to 209,350 people in Macau, comprising 120,594 who had received their first jab and 88,756 who had received their second jab.
Macau’s COVID-19 vaccination rate stood at 30.7 percent as of 4 p.m. yesterday – i.e. about 30 percent of the population has received at least one jab.
A total of 29 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 1,207, or 0.41 percent of the total number of jabs, including three serious cases.
Meanwhile, from this week the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre will reschedule its regular press conferences to every Monday and Thursday, a change from the hitherto five press conferences per week, every Monday to Friday.
Mong Ha inoculation facility
Meanwhile, the new COVID-19 vaccination facility at the newly completed Mong Ha Sports Centre came into service yesterday morning, with 1,000 places for inoculations initially available per day, before the number of places there will increase to 2,000.
The new Mong Ha inoculation facility runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. The new “large-sized community vaccination station”, which is used for the administration of Sinopharm jabs, is operated by the Health Bureau (SSM) in collaboration with the private Kiang Wu Hospital.
Including the Mong Ha facility, Macau’s COVID-19 vaccinations are now carried out at 18 facilities, comprising two inoculation facilities at the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, eight public health centres, two public health stations, the Macau Forum inoculation facility, the Mong Ha vaccination facility, as well as the private Kiang Wu Hospital, the University Hospital run by the private Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Taipa, and two clinics run by the Macau Federation of Trade Unions (commonly known as Gung Luen) – one of the city’s biggest community associations.
Speaking to reporters at the Mong Ha inoculation facility yesterday morning, Lo said that over the past 20 days, on average about 6,000 people have been getting their COVID-19 jabs per day, an enormous increase from the around 500 people per day on average around two months ago. He said this was an indication that residents’ confidence in COVID-19 vaccinations has been constantly increasing.
Lo noted Macau’s COVID-19 vaccination rate of around 30 percent of the population so far. He added that about 34 percent of the population aged 12 or over has received at least one jab.
Also speaking to reporters at the Mong Ha inoculation facility yesterday, Kiang Wu Hospital Managing Subdirector Cheung Chun Wing said that now there are 10 inoculation rooms operating at the new COVID-19 vaccination facility, where at least 25 Kiang Wu doctors and nurses are working.
Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long addresses yesterday’s press conference about the city’s novel coronavirus situation. Photo: Tony Wong
People who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 rest during their 30-minute observation period at the Mong Ha Sports Centre yesterday when the new inoculation facility started operating. Photo: GCS
