The Macau government announced today that it has lowered with immediate effect the minimum age for inactivated COVID-19 vaccines to 12 years.
Previously, Macau's minimum age for inactivated vaccines stood at 18.
According to an executive order by Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng published in today's Official Gazette (BO), people aged between 12 and under 60 are allowed to be inoculated with inactivated vaccines. Those aged 60 or over are permitted to be inoculated with this kind of vaccine if their health is good and they are facing an increased risk of COVID-19 infection.
China's Sinopharm is currently the only inactivated novel coronavirus vaccine available in Macau.
According to the executive order, mRNA vaccines are permitted for people aged at least 12.
Germany's BioNTech is currently the only mRNA vaccine available in Macau.
Meanwhile, the government announced today that the results of all the 80,452 people from key areas and high-risk groups tested yesterday were negative. Yesterday's nucleic acid testing (NAT) round was Macau's first that focused on key areas in the city, i.e., neighbourhoods near buildings where COVID-19 cases had been detected recently. The high-risk groups include renovation and laundry workers.
Macau's COVID-19 tally stands at 77. No novel coronavirus fatalities have been reported in Macau.
Meanwhile, according to Macau media reports, the municipal government of Zhuhai lifted today its mandatory 14-day quarantine for arrivals from Macau from noon tomorrow. Zhuhai imposed mandatory quarantine on arrivals from Macau on September 26 after the detection of a COVID-19 Delta variant cluster in Macau.
From 12 p.m. tomorrow arrivals from Macau must prove that they were tested within 48 hours prior to their arriving in the adjacent city, according to the reports.
While tens of thousands of people living in Zhuhai work and study in Macau, many Macau residents often visit the adjacent municipality for shopping and leisure.
