The Macau authorities announced on Wednesday fresh travel restrictions for inbound travellers from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Starting from Monday (February 21), people aged 12 or over setting off from either of those places will have to show proof of vaccination against Covid-19 before they are allowed to travel to Macau, said the city’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre.
According to the announcement, inbound voyagers from Hong Kong and Taiwan must present either a certificate proving that they have completed “the initial full course of Covid-19 vaccination” at least 14 days prior to travel – with the last jab taken within seven months of travel – or a certificate proving they are unfit for such vaccination.
Currently, people travelling from Hong Kong and Taiwan must present a ‘negative’ Covid-19 nucleic acid test result issued within 24 hours of their trip to Macau.
Travellers from Hong Kong are subject to a 14-day quarantine on arrival in Macau, according to the city’s health authorities. Those arriving from Hong Kong are only allowed to travel to mainland China from Macau at least seven days after completing the required quarantine in Macau.
Travellers from Taiwan are still subject to a 21-day quarantine on arrival in Macau.
The fresh measures were announced as Hong Kong’s fifth wave of Covid-19 infections continued to grow, with the city confirming 1,619 cases on Tuesday. Hong Kong’s latest wave of coronavirus infections first emerged in late December, and the city has since confirmed more than 10,000 cases.
On Tuesday, Taiwan recorded its first death from the Omicron variant of Covid-19, and reported 45 new cases, including five that were domestically transmitted, with all but one of them linked to existing clusters, according to the local health authorities.
Under Macau’s requirements, people aged 12 or above travelling from overseas must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to be allowed into the city. All air travellers from overseas must be immediately placed in quarantine for at least 21 days.
Mainland China remains the only place to have a largely-quarantine free travel arrangement with Macau.
