On one hand, the measures imposed by the province of Canton are eased. On the other, new confirmed cases of covid-19 have again complicated the flow of people with Hong Kong. Travelers suffer, Macau’s economy even more.
The last few days have brought several new features for those who intend to enter and leave Macau, or to circulate between the different regions that surround the city.
With the period established for the special corridor between Macau and Hong Kong airport (July 16) about to end, the local government announced a change in procedures: as of today it will be necessary to submit a negative nucleic acid test to new coronavirus to enter and leave Macau via this route.
There were many doubts, the information available was few and hundreds of people quickly gathered at the Pac On Nucleic Acid Test Station to request the necessary test. The authorities, however, guaranteed support to all those who, having already scheduled trips, urgently need to take the test. “We have two ways to help: the Tourist Office will contact, one by one, who already has a ‘ferry ticket’ [to Hong Kong Airport], to inform them of the new measure. If they are unable to make an appointment, we can arrange a special time for those who already have a scheduled boat and plane ticket to continue their journey ”, said Alvis Lo Iek Long, from the direction of the Centro Hospitalar Conde de São Januário, quoted by TDM.
The move follows a significant increase in the number of positive covid-19 cases in Hong Kong in recent days – 41 new cases were confirmed yesterday. Authorities in the neighboring region of Macau have again tightened up preventive measures, according to the South China Morning Post, with a special focus on social detachment. Bars, karaoke and venues such as Disneyland are closing again, restaurants see their hours of operation reduced and permitted gatherings increase from 50 to four people.
The two recent cases of contagion identified in the Philippines, concerning non-resident workers who have left Macau, may also have weighed in on this decision by health authorities. “These cases drew our attention to the greater security of the population of Macau,” Alvis Lo Iek Long told TDM.
Canton opens
If the flow of people with Hong Kong becomes more complicated, the cross-border traffic with the province of Canton should, in turn, recover this week: from 6:00 on the 15th of July, people coming from Macau will stop having to comply with a 14-day mandatory quarantine period in nine cities in the province of Guangzhou.
This decision can also be encouraging from an economic point of view – remember that gaming revenues in Macau fell 97% in June and more than 77% in the first half, compared to the same periods in 2019, in a territory where 80% of revenue comes from revenue generated by the special tax on gambling and other contributory duties of the concessionaires. On June 30, the Macau authorities also advanced to Lusa that until May more than seven thousand contracts were canceled or not renewed in the territory.
All travelers wishing to enter Guangzhou will have to present a certificate of negative result of the nucleic acid test for the new type of coronavirus, as well as the respective health codes of Macao and the province of Canton, but the cross-border movement will finally be resumed.
Visitors are essential to Macau’s economy. The latest revision of the University of Macau (UM) macroeconomic forecasts points to a fall between 54.5% and 60% in the territory’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year, forecasts established taking into account five scenarios related to the number of visitors to the territory. territory. The five scenarios are: the first, with 5.16 million visitors, in the second, 7.92 million, the third, with 10.68 million, in the fourth, 9.9 million, and the fifth, with 12.66 million . For UM, the most likely scenarios for the territory in 2020 are “the first, the second, or a mixture” of these two.
With the gradual opening of borders from now on, Macu’s economic indicators may undergo a positive change. In Mainland China, the cities covered by the new measure are Zhuhai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing.
