The Macau government announced today that migrant workers who have been in mainland China two weeks before their intended entry into Macau need to go into 14 days of quarantine first.
The measure was announced by senior officials during the daily press conference by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre about the COVID-19 epidemic. The officials said non-resident workers (as migrant workers are officially known in Macau) arriving from Zhuhai must first go into 14 days of quarantine in the adjacent city in Guangdong province and then present an official health certificate confirming that they are not infected with the novel coronavirus before they will be allowed to enter Macau.
Mainlanders accounted for some 62 percent of Macau's 196,538 non-resident workers at the end of last year. Almost all workers from the mainland arrive in Macau via Zhuhai, mostly via the Gongbei-Macau checkpoint, one of the world's busiest until last month's novel coronavirus epidemic deteriorated.
The officials said that non-resident workers arriving from areas other than Zhuhai after having been in mainland China 14 days prior without the required health certificate would have to stay under medical observation for 14 days in a place arranged by the government.
According to an executive order signed by Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng, the measure will take effect at 00:00 on February 20.
The press conference also revealed that 2,800 tourists arrived in Macau yesterday, 1,400 of them from the Chinese mainland. The officials also said that 11,000 non-resident workers and about 10,000 residents entered Macau yesterday.
Non-resident workers accounted for 49.5 percent of Macau's total workforce at the end of last year, according to official statistics.
According to immigration officials, Macau's number of visitor arrivals has fallen over 90 percent year-on-year since the beginning of this month.
Macau's last two novel coronavirus cases, the 9th and 10th cases respectively, were confirmed on February 4. Among the 10 COVID-19 patients, five have meanwhile been discharged from hospital. The 10 cases comprise seven tourists from Wuhan and three locals.
