The Macau government will exempt from today all Macau non-resident workers living in Zhuhai from the current 14-day quarantine imposed on non-resident workers from the mainland, according to an executive order signed by Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng and published in the Official Gazette (BO) on Friday.
According to Friday’s executive order, the non-resident workers must obtain an official confirmation from the Zhuhai authorities that they have their habitual residence there so that they can benefit from the new quarantine waiver. They also have to show a nucleic acid test (NAT) certificate proving that they have tested negative for COVID-19 within the past seven days – or indicating that they have had their sample collected – and their green Macau Health Code, when crossing the Macau-Zhuhai border, according to the executive order.
The local government has pointed out that a NAT certificate merely indicating that the holder has had their sample collected is only valid for them to cross the Macau-Zhuhai border if their sample had been collected at least 24 hours before.
Alvis Lo Iek Long (right), one of the three clinical directors of the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, and Health Bureau (SSM) Control of Communicable Diseases and Surveillance of Diseases Department Coordinator Leong Iek Hou pose during Friday’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre press conference. Photo: GCS
From 6 a.m. today
The new exemption measure takes effect at 6 a.m. today.
Since February 20, non-resident workers who have been in the mainland within 14 days prior to their intended entry into Macau have had to go into quarantine and medical observation for 14 days at a facility in Zhuhai arranged by the health authorities there and then obtain a health certificate issued by the Zhuhai health authorities confirming that they have not been infected with the novel coronavirus disease, before they are allowed to enter Macau. The 14-day quarantine measure for mainland non-resident workers by the Macau government is carried out in collaboration with its Zhuhai counterpart.
All travellers arriving in Guangdong from overseas as well as Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan have had to undergo 14 days of “concentrated” quarantine there since March 27. Certain groups of Macau-Zhuhai cross-border commuters are currently exempted from the 14-day quarantine measure carried out by the Zhuhai government, such as Macau people who live in Zhuhai but work in Macau (with a Zhuhai residence permit) and Macau pupils and teachers who live in Zhuhai.
Foreign visitors have been barred from entering Macau since March 18, and the entry ban was extended to cover all foreign nationals – including foreign non-resident workers – the following day.
The 14-day quarantine requirement imposed on mainland non-resident workers was first jointly relaxed by the Zhuhai and Macau governments on May 11. Since then non-resident workers holding a Zhuhai ID card or residence permit have been exempted from the quarantine measure so that they can commute between the two cities. The local government has said that some 20,000 non-resident workers are covered by the May 11 quarantine exemption.According to data from the Macau Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL), at the end of April the number of non-resident workers stood at 188,918, of whom 114,855 (60.8 percent of the total number) were mainlanders.
In order to avoid the 14 days quarantine required by the Macau government, a large number of non-resident workers who live in Zhuhai moved to Macau to live here temporarily shortly before the implementation of the measure on February 20, according to local media reports. Before the February 20 quarantine measure, tens of thousands of mainland non-resident workers employed in Macau lived in Zhuhai, but many of them reportedly did not have a Zhuhai ID card or residence permit.
Today’s measure means that the quarantine exemption granted to mainland non-resident workers employed in Macau is now extended to all those living in Zhuhai and commuting between the two cities – provided that they can prove their habitual residence status there.
No COVID-19 cases in Macau for 74 days
As of yesterday, Macau had not confirmed a new COVID-19 case for 74 consecutive days. All of Macau’s 45 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from hospital.
Meanwhile, the 16th round of the government’s facemask purchase scheme started yesterday. The facemasks sold under the scheme are colloquially known as “government facemasks”.
Under the facemask purchase scheme, which was launched by the government on January 23, each local resident and non-resident worker is entitled to buy 10 facemasks at the fixed price of eight patacas every 10 days at designated outlets upon presentation of their original Macau ID card or work permit (informally known as “blue card”). In each round, which lasts 10 days, parents or legal guardians are entitled to buy 10 facemasks for each child aged between five and eight, and five facemasks for each kid aged between three and four.
Officials told Friday’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre press conference that 87.25 million “government facemasks” had been sold until then.
