With effect from midnight tonight, all mainland air passengers must present a nucleic acid test (NAT) certificate confirming that they have tested negative for Covid-19 within the past 48 hours before boarding a Macao-bound plane.
Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long said Macao had decided to shorten the NAT validity from seven days in response to the latest Covid-19 developments in the mainland.
Macao also imposed hotel quarantine as of 7 pm last night on arrivals from anywhere in Nanjing city, whose ongoing transmissions started early last week at its airport. Upon arrival in Macao, those who have visited any area in Nanjing during the previous 14 days must undergo hotel quarantine and medical observation for up to 14 days after leaving Nanjing.
Lo also announced that anyone who had visited Changde city in Hunan province on or after 17 July must now also undergo hotel quarantine for up to 14 days after leaving Changde. The measure also took effect at 7 pm yesterday.
Turning to arrivals from Zhangjiajie, Lo announced that even those who had already entered Macao before yesterday after visiting Zhangjiajie on or after 17 July are now also required to undergo hotel quarantine.
The SSM’s Control of Communicable Diseases and Surveillance of Diseases Department Coordinator Leong Iek Hou said that about 100 people in Macao had reported on their Macao Health Code that they had visited Zhangjiajie, adding that the bureau ordered them to report to the Taipa Ferry Terminal in Pac On for transfer to a quarantine hotel.
Lo also announced that those who had visited Sichuan’s provincial capital of Chengdu, Liaoning’s provincial capital of Shenyang or Dalian city in the province on or after 17 July are required to practise “self-health management” for up to 14 days after they had left any of the three cities. During their “self-health management” stint they are required to take a number of free-of-charge NATs by making an appointment on their website.
Lo said the “self-health management” measure also applies to those who have visited Nanjing within the past 14 days or had visited Hunan province’s Changde city on or after 17 July but had already entered Macao before 7 pm yesterday.
Macao has not recorded a new local Covid-19 case for 487 consecutive days; the city’s total number of vaccinations reached 501,061 at 4 pm yesterday.
