GGRAsia – Macau to tighten quarantine for ‘very high-risk’ places

Macau to tighten quarantine for ‘very high-risk’ places

Dec 31, 2021 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

The Macau government has announced stricter quarantine measures for inbound travellers from places deemed “very high risk”. The new rules, covering an aggregate of 22 countries, will be applied from the stroke of midnight on January 6, said the local authorities.

Prior to their departure to Macau, travellers from these high-risk areas will be required to present a proof of three ‘negative’ Covid-19 nucleic acid test results issued within five days and at least 24 hours apart. These travellers will be subject to a 28-day quarantine on arrival in Macau, according to the city’s health authorities.

The measures cover people arriving via either the Philippines, Cambodia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Iran, Brazil, Turkey, Russia and the United States. Several countries in Africa are also part of the list: South Africa, Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Mozambique, and Malawi.

The announcement was made on Thursday, during the media briefing (pictured) by officials from the city’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre.

Under the existing rules, people arriving from high-risk areas were required to present a proof of three ‘negative’ Covid-19 test results issued within seven days and at least 24 hours apart, and to undergo a 21-day quarantine on arrival.

All arrivals to Macau from other foreign countries are required to present proof of a ‘negative’ Covid-19 test result issued within 48 hours, and undergo a 21-day quarantined on arrival.

Those aged 12 or over, 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.

The new rules were announced after Macau confirmed on Wednesday its second imported Covid-19 infection case involving the Omicron variant. The infected person is a 62-year-old male, a Macau ID holder who returned to the city on December 27, from the United States, via a transit stop in Singapore.