Macau will continue to require full vaccination against covid-19 for all passengers wishing to travel to the region from abroad, which announced today the reduction of the quarantine from 10 to seven days.
“If they do not get vaccinated, they are not eligible to even board the flight back to Macau,” even if they are local residents, Leong Iek Hou of the New Coronavirus Type Contingency Coordination Center told a press conference today.
Read also: Macau reduces quarantines to seven days starting Saturday
The Chinese special administrative region will, starting Saturday, reduce the quarantine period for “persons entering Macau from foreign countries, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or the Taiwan Region.” In addition to the seven days of medical observation in a hotel designated by the authorities, it is still necessary to comply with three more days of self-management, the center stressed in a statement.
The measure applies to those who have “completed all procedures of vaccination against the new type of coronavirus” and showed negative test results upon arrival in Macau, as well as in tests during the quarantine period.
Macau, which had recorded about 80 cases since January 2020, was hit in June by the worst outbreak faced since the start of the pandemic, which infected more than 1,800 people, mostly asymptomatic cases, and caused six deaths, all elderly people with chronic illnesses.
Of the covid-19 cases in Macau, 19 percent were unvaccinated and less than half had all three doses, health officials said on June 30, calling the unvaccinated rate “very high.”
Read more about this subject: 19% of infected people in Macau without vaccine and less than half with three doses
The deputy director of the Conde de São Januário Hospital, Lei Wai Seng, today called again for the population to be vaccinated, especially the elderly.in May, the authorities offered the elderly, the age group with a lower rate of immunization, vouchers up to a maximum value of 250 patacas (30 euros) as an incentive for vaccination.
The government has been stressing that a high vaccination rate could allow for a relaxation of border control measures, which have had a negative impact on tourism, practically the only industry in the territory.
The borders with mainland China have been virtually closed since the outbreak began on June 18. Something that led casinos to record in July their worst result, in terms of revenue, since at least 2003.
Read also: Covid-19: Macau reopens gardens, parks, recreational areas and trails after outbreak
Since February 21, Macau has required a vaccination certificate for people over 12 years old coming from Hong Kong and Taiwan, a measure that already applied to passengers on international flights.
