NAT validity for Macau-Zhuhai travellers back to 48 hours
The local government has announced that Macau has returned to a “normalised” COVID-19 prevention and control period after no COVID-19 positive results were reported from its second mandatory citywide nucleic acid testing (NAT) drive, which was carried out from 7 a.m. on Friday to 6 p.m. on Saturday.
The validity of the negative COVID-19 NAT result for those travelling between Macau and Zhuhai has now been raised back to 48 hours from just 24 hours, which took effect at 00:00 a.m. on Saturday.
The NAT validity for those travelling between the two cities was shortened to just 24 hours from 48 hours from 6 p.m. on Sunday last week (October 30) following the COVID-19 detection of a 43-year-old casino croupier and her two 13-year-old sons earlier that day.
Unjabbed entering Macau from Guangdong subject to 24-hour NAT validity
However, from 00:00 a.m. on Saturday, three groups of unvaccinated people entering Macau from Guangdong, namely local residents and non-resident workers, as well as other non-local people holding a permit to stay in Macau, must present an NAT certificate confirming a negative COVID-19 result valid for just 24 hours.
The 24-hour NAT validity is not applicable to those entering Guangdong from Macau. Two groups of people are exempted from the stricter NAT validity, namely those aged below five and those who hold a doctor’s certificate confirming their unsuitability for COVID-19 vaccinations, meaning that their NAT validity remains unchanged at 48 hours when entering Macau from Guangdong.
In addition to those arriving from Zhuhai, the stricter NAT validity for unvaccinated people is also applicable to those arriving from Shenzhen by ferry.
Macau has several land-border checkpoints with Zhuhai, and runs a ferry service with Zhuhai’s Wanzai harbour. Macau currently also operates a ferry service with Shenzhen.
Macau’s latest COVID-19 situation began on October 26 when a 66-year-old local woman was diagnosed with COVID-19. She had frequently travelled between Macau and Zhuhai. Five more cases related to the 66-year-old woman were also diagnosed with COVID-19 later, namely her close contacts or those living in the same building.
In addition, a 43-year-old local woman, who works as a croupier at the MGM COTAI casino-hotel resort, was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Sunday last week (October 30). Her two 13-year-old sons, as well as a woman living in the same building, were also diagnosed with the disease later the same day.
Consequently, 10 cases had been reported from the two COVID-19 clusters.
However, the COVID-19 detection of a 58-year-old local man, who works in a fresh seafood wholesale shop near Praça de Ponte e Horta in the Inner Harbour area and lives in Zhuhai, on Monday last week triggered the local government’s first citywide NAT drive, due to the potentially high risk to the community resulting from his case, which was carried out from 7 a.m. on Tuesday to 11 a.m. on Wednesday last week. No COVID-19 positive results were reported from the first mass NAT campaign.
Afterwards, the Macau government decided to launch another round of citywide nucleic acid tests, i.e., the second round which was carried out from Friday to Saturday, with the aim of ensuring that the COVID-19 community risk resulting from the 58-year-old man’s case has been cleared.
Moreover, the government had also required everyone in Macau to self-test for COVID-19 for six consecutive days. No COVID-19 positive results were reported from the six-day mandatory rapid antigen test (RAT) drive, which ended on Friday.
The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced in a statement on Saturday night that all of the around 660,000 test results in the government’s second round of citywide nucleic acid tests were negative. The statement said that the Health Bureau has concluded that Macau can now return to a normalised COVID-19 prevention and control period.
Since yesterday, the government has suspended its daily COVID-19 press conference.
The Macau Health Bureau first revealed on October 27 its plan to impose stricter NAT validity rules for certain groups of unvaccinated people entering Macau from Guangdong.
The 24-hour NAT validity for the three groups of unvaccinated people entering Macau from Guangdong, which got off the ground at 00:00 a.m. on Saturday, was announced by a COVID-19 press conference and a statement on Friday.
As of yesterday, Macau’s COVID-19 tally of confirmed and asymptomatic cases stood at 795 and 1,798 respectively, of which 787 and 1,761 had been cured. Macau’s COVID-19 death toll remained at six.
Travellers enter Macau from Zhuhai via the Barrier Gate checkpoint yesterday. – Photo courtesy of TDM
