Pandemic prevention requirements increased for HK arrivals and reduced for Taiwan arrivals

The current 21-day quarantine requirement in force for Taiwan arrivals will be reduced to 14-days in a medical observation hotel plus a seven-day health self-management period starting from February 21, health authorities announced today (Thursday).

At the same time, arrivals from Hong Kong will now have to carry out a seven-day health self-management period after the required 14-day quarantine period, Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre Coordinator Dr. Leong Iek Hou announced today.

People who have been in Hong Kong and Taiwan in the 21 days before entry will also not be allowed to enter Mainland China through the Macau SAR during the health self-management period.

Self-health management entails restricting travel to work or school, wearing a facemask in public, and twice-daily temperature checks, with the personal health code changed to yellow and entry prohibited in some public areas.

During this period, people must undergo nucleic acid testing on the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 7th days.

If the person does not accept the test on the specified date, the health code will be locked as a red code until a negative result of the verification test is obtained.

Since today Hong Kong arrivals entering the city via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge must also await the result of the nucleic acid test at the entry border checkpoint, with a result possibly taking six hours to be released, health authorities announced.

Those with negative results will be referred to a medical observation hotel, while positive cases will be referred to the Public Health Clinical Center in Alto de Coloane for isolation and treatment.

Arrivals from Hong Kong, Taiwan or mainland China areas deemed to be of high risk can stay in either the Pousada Marina Infante, Grand Coloane Resort or the Regency Art Hotel, with all overseas arrivals having to complete the required 21-day quarantine at the Treasure Hotel.

A total of 1,042 people are currently under medical observation, including 274 in designated medical observation hotels, 570 in self-selected medical observation hotels, and 198 in the Treasure Hotel specialized medical observation hotel.

The total includes 440 Macau residents, 208 non-resident workers and 394 tourists

Starting from February 21 a vaccination certificate will also become an entry requirement for arrivals coming from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

As for whether authorities will consider requiring people entering Macau from the mainland to also complete vaccination before entering, Dr.Leong said that authorities will not rule out this possibility if necessary.

The neighbouring SAR has reported daily record Covid-19 cases numbers with more than 6,000 new cases reported just this Thursday.

A total of 50 Macau university students currently stranded in Hong Kong will also return to the city on February 17 and 18.

With the availability of rooms in quarantine hotels in the city currently in short supply, Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) representative, Luis Gomes, informed that these students will be placed at the Treasure Hotel, used for overseas arrivals.