The government’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced in a statement yesterday that from 6 a.m. today all those arriving in Macau from Hong Kong must present a nucleic acid test (NAT) certificate confirming that they have tested negative for COVID-19 within the past 24 hours, otherwise they will be refused entry.
Today’s further tightened prerequisite for the NAT certificates presented by arrivals from Hong Kong came only three days after the Macau government hardened the NAT certificate requirement for them – from seven days to 72 hours – on Tuesday.
According to yesterday’s statement, the Macau government has decided to further tighten the requirement for the NAT certificates presented by arrivals from Hong Kong from 72 hours to 24 hours after considering that Hong Kong’s COVID-19 epidemic continues to be serious.
The statement also said that the operators or drivers of public transport vehicles travelling from Hong Kong to Macau should refuse passengers who fail to present the required NAT certificate to board their vehicles. Any operator or driver breaching this requirement might be subject to penalties in line with the relevant laws and regulations, the statement said.
The statement pointed out that all arrivals who have been in Hong Kong within the 14 days prior to their entry into Macau must undergo 14 days of quarantine and medical observation at one of the government’s “quarantine hotels” – irrespective of their NAT certificate. The Macau government has implemented its 14-day quarantine on arrivals from Hong Kong since March 25.
Since July 13, all those arriving in Macau from Hong Kong had had to present a NAT certificate confirming that they had tested negative for COVID-19 within the past seven days, until Tuesday this week when the Macau government shortened the NAT certificate requirement for them to 72 hours.
Meanwhile, the Guangdong government has announced that from 10 a.m. today all those entering the province from Hong Kong must present a NAT certificate confirming that they have tested negative for COVID-19 within the past 24 hours, a change from its 72-hours NAT certificate measure for arrivals from Hong Kong since July 17. Arrivals from Hong Kong have to undergo 14 days of “concentrated” quarantine in Guangdong upon their arrival there – despite having presented a NAT certificate.
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 from July 15. Guangdong’s quarantine measure for arrivals from elsewhere remains in force.
Macau has not recorded a new COVID-19 case for 41 days, while no local case has been confirmed for 130 days. All of Macau’s 46 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from hospital. Unlike Hong Kong – which has been hard hit by a citywide outbreak since early last month, Macau has been spared a community outbreak of the highly infectious disease.
This photo taken in March shows people wearing protective gear as they wait for a bus to Hong Kong at the Macau side of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. Photo: MPDG
