The Barrier Gate checkpoint area was filled with “worriers” trying to charge across the border after the government imposed the new 24-hour NAT rule for people leaving Macau at 3:30 p.m. yesterday, and some told The Macau Post Daily yesterday afternoon that they were waiting at the border checkpoint until they could get the earliest appointment for their nucleic acid tests (NAT).
According to a woman from Foshan who came to Macau on Monday for shopping, her NAT was not taken on Monday but she had already checked out of her hotel room, adding that she was sitting near the checkpoint until “things are less hectic” to get her new test.
Two non-resident workers from Zhuhai told The Macau Post Daily while sitting near the checkpoint that they were waiting for the government’s crashed NAT appointment website to recover so that they could book an appointment as soon as possible in order to go home. When asked what they would suggest those who were unable to go across the border and were not able to get an NAT yesterday, they said those people should immediately book a hotel before they are fully booked and then keep trying to book an NAT appointment.
Another non-resident worker standing near the entrance of the checkpoint said that he did his NAT on Sunday and was not sure whether he could cross the border. He said he was going to “give it a try”, if he failed, he would return and do the test again.
Amid the crowd of non-local workers and tourists, there was a local man trying to cross the border to buy “groceries” in Zhuhai because he believed they would be cheaper. However, when he was about to enter the checkpoint, he was stopped by a police officer and realised that his NAT had been done on Sunday, therefore he could not leave Macau. When the resident was asked whether he was worried about the outbreak, he quickly claimed that he was “not worried” because he was wearing a “government mask”. He said he believed that as long as everyone wears their masks properly and sticks to the government’s rules, Macau would be safe.
Facemasks provided by the government are colloquially known as “government masks”.
A man holding a smartphone asks a policeman about his Nucleic Acid Test result validity period. Photo: Prisca Tang
