The local government’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced in a statement yesterday that from today all those who have entered Guangdong from Macau can now travel within the whole province.
The statement said that the Zhuhai government has notified its Macau counterpart of the new measure, which starts at 6 a.m. today, to “facilitate the gradual restoration of the normal movement of people between Guangdong and Macau”.
The Guangdong government imposed 14-day quarantine on arrivals from foreign countries as well as Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan on March 27. The Guangdong government lifted its 14-day quarantine requirement for arrivals from Macau as of July 15. Guangdong’s quarantine measure for arrivals from elsewhere remains in force.
Before today’s new measure, since the Guangdong government’s quarantine lifting on July 15, local residents who had entered Guangdong from Macau could only travel within the nine Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities in the province, namely Dongguan, Foshan, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Shenzhen, Zhaoqing, Zhongshan and Zhuhai.
Since July 15, Macau residents who work or live in Guangdong and mainlanders returning to the province from Macau have already been permitted to travel within the whole province.
The GBA comprises the nine Guangdong cities and the nation’s two special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau.
Only those who can present their green Guangdong Health Code – which is converted from the Macau Health Code – and a valid nucleic acid test (NAT) certificate confirming that they have tested negative for COVID-19 within the past seven days are allowed to enter Guangdong from Macau.
Those entering Guangdong from Macau must confirm that they have not been to a foreign country, Hong Kong or Taiwan within the 14 days prior to their entry into Guangdong.
Measure does not include foreigners living in Macau
The Guangdong government’s quarantine lifting for arrivals from Macau is applicable to Macau residents and mainlanders as well as Hong Kong people and Taiwan people who live either in Macau or Guangdong and commute between the two regions. For Macau residents, only those who hold a mainland-issued Home Return Permit are covered by the Guangdong government’s quarantine lifting, which means that foreign nationals holding a Macau ID card are not covered by the quarantine lifting. A Home Return Permit, officially known as Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macau Residents, is only issued to Chinese nationals who are permanent residents of Hong Kong and Macau as their travel document to the mainland.
Yesterday’s statement pointed out that people who have entered the province within 14 days must declare their health condition on the Guangdong Health Code every day and properly carry out COVID-19 protection measures.
Yesterday’s statement said that the Guangdong Health Code of travellers who fail to declare their health condition on the code within 48 hours after entering the province will indicate red. The statement said that the red code will only be lifted after they declare their health condition on the Guangdong Health Code for two consecutive days.
Yesterday’s statement also pointed out that after arriving at their destinations, those who have a fixed residence or workplace must report their arrival to the community committees there in a “timely” manner. The travellers should refrain from going out and participating in any activities involving crowds within the 14 days after entering the province. The statement also pointed out that those who stay at a hotel must declare their health status to the hotel staff when checking in.
Yesterday’s statement warned that Macau residents who have travelled beyond Guangdong within the 14 days after entering the province will have their eligibility to enter the province from Macau without having to undergo quarantine cancelled. For mainlanders, the statement said that they will be barred from applying for various kinds of travel permits to Macau for a certain period of time.
No COVID-19 case has been confirmed in Macau for 32 days. All 46 COVID-19 patients in Macau have been discharged from hospital. Unlike Hong Kong, Macau has been spared a community outbreak of the disease.
Macau-Zhuhai cross-border commuters walk towards Macau in the corridor between Macau’s Barrier Gate checkpoint and Zhuhai’s Gongbei checkpoint last week. Photo: MPDG
