With effect from 3pm on Wednesday (November 16), people intending to travel between Macau and the neighbouring city of Zhuhai, in the mainland province of Guangdong, must hold a nucleic acid test certificate issued within 24 hours proving they are ‘negative’ for Covid-19 infection. The measure is set to last for seven days, up to November 23 inclusive.
The new rule – tightened from the original 48-hour test validity rule – was announced on Wednesday morning via a cross-border liaison system known as the “Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism between Zhuhai and Macau”. The statement only briefly mentioned that the tweak to the Covid-19 test rule for crossings between Macau and Zhuhai was required for “epidemic control”.
The tightening of the test rules coincides with the emergence of fresh Covid-19 infections in Zhuhai, linked to an underground mall at the Gongbei boundary crossing in Zhuhai, according to that city’s health authorities.
Macau’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre also issued a warning to the general public on Wednesday regarding the possibility of a “transmission chain”, as both Macau and Zhuhai have recently reported new Covid-19 cases that had visited the underground mall in Gongbei. In addition, fresh cases have also been reported in Zhuhai’s Doumen district, the centre stated.
On Wednesday, Macau’s health authorities reported a new Covid-19 case, involving a mainland Chinese resident who works as a security guard at the headquarters of Macau’s Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau. The authorities said they believed the infection to be linked to the underground mall in Gongbei, a place the individual was said to have visited recently.
