SSM Control of Communicable Diseases and Surveillance of Diseases Department Coordinator Leong Iek Hou reaffirmed during Wednesday’s press conference that all air passengers – including Macau residents – must obtain a certificate confirming that they have tested negative for COVID-19 before they are allowed to board their flight to Macau.
Leong said during Tuesday’s daily press conference that the local government had ordered airlines to ensure the implementation of three measures on passengers who are about to board flights to Macau.
Firstly, airlines must ensure that the passengers meet Macau’s current entry measures in response to the COVID-19 threat, namely by not allowing foreign nationals to board the flight as they are currently barred from entering Macau.
Secondly, airlines must request visitors to show a certificate confirming that they have tested negative for COVID-19 within seven days prior to their intended flight to Macau. Otherwise, they are not allowed to board the flight.
Thirdly, passengers must have their temperature checked before boarding the flight, and those with a fever are not allowed to get on the plane, according to Tuesday’s announcement.
In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, the government’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre said that it has told airlines via the Macau Civil Aviation Authority (AACM) that all air passengers departing for Macau must present a certificate issued by medical institutions at the place from where they depart confirming that they have tested negative for COVID-19 before boarding the plane. The statement said that those who fail to submit such a certificate will not be allowed to board the flight.
During Wednesday’s press conference, Leong said that the Health Bureau has provided the Macau Civil Aviation Authority with its guidelines on how to implement the COVID-19 test certificate measure. Leong underlined that despite having submitted the certificate, air passengers who have arrived in Macau from COVID-19 high-prevalence areas must still go into 14 days of quarantine and medical observation.
Foreign visitors have been barred from entering Macau since March 18, and the entry ban was extended to cover all foreign nationals – including foreign non-resident workers –the following day.
Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan residents who have been to a foreign country within 14 days before their intended arrival here have been barred from entering Macau since March 25.
Macau residents who have been to a foreign country, Hong Kong or Taiwan within 14 days prior to their return to Macau must go into 14 days of quarantine and medical observation at a designated hotel.
Leong reaffirmed on Wednesday that the COVID-19 test certificate measure aims to prevent other passengers and crew members on a flight from being infected with the novel coronavirus disease.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
