The Macau authorities have announced stricter travel measures for inbound travellers from Hong Kong. From 6am today (Thursday, February 17), people arriving in Macau via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge will have to wait at the boundary crossing point for the result of a Covid-19 nucleic acid test, said Macau’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre.
The new measure is “in response to the evolution of the epidemic situation in Hong Kong and in order to reduce the risk of transmission at medical observation hotels” in Macau, said the local authorities.
The centre said it might take “up to six hours” for the result to be known, and that travellers “must be prepared for all eventualities.”
According to the announcement, people with a ‘negative’ result will be taken to a medical observation hotel for a 14-day quarantine. Positive cases will be referred to a dedicated clinical centre for isolation and treatment, the statement added.
The fresh measures were announced after Macau reported on Wednesday two new Covid-19 cases among people inbound from Hong Kong. The pair was in quarantine at one of the city’s medical observation hotels.
Hong Kong’s fifth wave of Covid-19 has seen the number of cases continue to grow, with the city confirming 4,285 infections on Wednesday. Hong Kong’s latest wave of coronavirus infections first emerged in late December, and the city has since confirmed more than 14,000 cases.
On Wednesday, Macau health authorities announced that, from February 21, people aged 12 or over setting off from either Hong Kong or Taiwan will have to show proof of vaccination against Covid-19 before they are allowed to travel to Macau.
