A 15-day ban on passenger flights to Macau coming from “regions outside China”, took by surprise dozens of Macau residents of Portuguese nationality abroad, who were left unable to return to the SAR.
A spokeswoman for STDM Tours Travel Agency Ltd told Lusa that the travel agency has six clients in this situation, all in Portugal.
Another agency, Sincerity Travel, has “at least 13” Portuguese waiting, manager Sara Ng told Lusa. “They call me every day, sometimes at midnight, asking for news,” she added.
The ban, which came into force on January 9, was announced, following the detection of two cases of the Ómicron variant of the new coronavirus in residents who arrived in the territory from abroad and were in mandatory quarantine of at least 21 days.
The authorities of Macau, which since the beginning of the pandemic have registered 79 cases of covid-19, have already admitted the possibility of this suspension remaining in force after the 23rd.
With the Macau Resident Identity Card soon to expire, architect Luísa Petiz said she was apprehensive. “I have to do the renovation until the beginning of February, otherwise I run the risk of losing my residence”, she explained to Lusa.
Helena Marçal also left the city on December 18, for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, to visit her children who live in the United Kingdom. There was still time to anticipate the return to Macau, initially scheduled for 11 January.
“I still thought about putting in all the holidays this year and staying until the reopening of flights, but I was afraid that this wouldn’t actually happen on January 23 and I would be hanging ‘sine die’ waiting for a flight”, she considered.
Inês Rebelo said that the air carrier Singapore Airlines, which operates the only flight between Macau and abroad, is only accepting reservations for March, something that has given rise to fears of an extension of the suspension.
The intern stressed that she feared failing the final exam of the Macau Lawyers Association, which is usually held in the first quarter. If this happens: “I have to register for the next exam, next year. It’s demotivating.”
Sara Ng said she believed that Singapore Airlines had decided to “block new bookings in a preventive manner”, pending a further decision by the Macau Government.
The consul general of Portugal in Macau, Paulo Cunha Alves, told Lusa that he had received two requests for support or information.
The diplomat recalled that the suspension “is the responsibility of the Macau authorities”, but guaranteed that the consulate “is providing all possible information and is in regular contact with the local authorities”.
Both the Macau Tourism Crisis Management Office and the Consulate General of Portugal in Macau and Hong Kong suggested that Inês Rebelo should return via mainland China.
“I have no alternatives while the blockade is in force”, the doctor Yun Fee Lai told Lusa, considering that other return options “are unfeasible for Portuguese passport holders”.
This alternative requires a valid visa, which is difficult to obtain due to the current pandemic situation and due to restrictions in force in China, and a quarantine of at least 21 days in a hotel. “It’s not very useful,” lamented Inês.
On the other hand, for university students in Portugal or the United Kingdom, the suspension did not cause problems, the Luso-Macaenses Students Association and the Macau Youth League in the United Kingdom told Lusa, as they have face-to-face classes and, in In the case of Portugal, the exam season is underway.
