Taking a bus is still possible in Macao, but services are limited and a number of restrictions have been introduced this week.
Officials said during yesterday’s daily Covid-19 briefing that people who regularly seek treatment at hospitals for their chronic diseases are required to show proof issued by the respective hospital when getting on a public bus.
Senior Unitary Police Service officer Cheong Kin Ian said that as of yesterday afternoon, around 63,000 special permits had been issued to those working in sectors that remain operational this week.
Senior Transport Bureau official Chang Cheong Hin underlined that when taking a public bus, staff members of the respective sectors must show their original special permits. Chang said that a number of people attempted to get on a public bus by showing a photocopy of their special permits earlier yesterday, adding that drivers will not allow such passengers to get on the buses.
Meanwhile, Public Security Police (PSP) PR officer Lei Tak Fai warned that anyone selling their special bus permit or using someone else’s permit to take the bus will face criminal prosecution.
The government has said that the seven-day order is a “static management” measure that aims to minimise the city’s movement of people as much as possible to eventually reach “zero cases in the community”.
During the seven-day period from yesterday through Sunday, only limited public bus services are provided. Only those working in sectors that remain open this week or those going to healthcare facilities to seek medical treatment are allowed to catch a bus.
Those working in sectors that are allowed to stay open are issued a special permit by the respective public entities overseeing the respective sectors’ operations for them to show to the driver when getting on a bus.
Domestic helpers can show their “blue card”, which indicates that they are legally employed in Macao, when catching a public bus. Live-out domestic helpers are allowed to continue travelling to their employers’ home to work, The Macau Post Daily reported.
