Starting from November 30, individuals with a positive COVID-19 test result will be allowed to travel to Macau under certain conditions.
Currently, only those who have a nucleic acid test certificate with a negative result, the validity period of which is 48 hours after the date of taking the test sample are allowed to travel to Macau.
However, from Wednesday that will also be possible for individuals with two nucleic acid test certificates with positive results. However, in this case, the CT value must be equal to or higher than 35, and the interval for sampling between the two tests must be at least 24 hours and not more than 72 hours. The validity period is 48 hours after the last test sample collection date.
The new rule applies to anyone travelling from Hong Kong, Taiwan or countries or regions outside the Mainland.
For travellers who need to transfer aircraft, boats or other vehicles, with the stopover not exceeding 24 hours, the validity period of the nucleic acid test certificate may be calculated based on the boarding hours at the place of departure. The period of validity shall be calculated based on the boarding times initially provided for in the route schedule.
In a press release, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre stresses that individuals who need to transfer by aircraft, boat or vehicle, with the stopover not exceeding 24 hours, in addition to displaying the certificate of the COVID-19 nucleic acid test meeting the requirements provided in the announcement, should also present the boarding passes of all journeys to prove their stopover (not exceeding 24 hours). On the other hand, with the introduction of the new provision, it is no longer required that all journeys have to be flights of the air transport company, but if the stopover is more than 24 hours, the validity period of the nucleic acid test certificate should be calculated based on the hours of boarding of aircraft, boats or vehicles.
The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre indicates that taking the 20 improved prevention and control measures, recently published by the Integrated Group of Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the Council of State as a reference, the presentation of the nucleic acid test certificate with a positive result is allowed, but with the CT value equal to or higher than 35, as there is “no risk of contagion, even taking into account the high infection rate of COVID-19 of individuals staying in Hong Kong, Taiwan or overseas countries, as well as the repeated occurrence of relapse in some recovered persons”.
Additionally, it is explained that “if the result is positive only in a nucleic acid test, with the CT value equal to or higher than 35, it does not mean that there is no possibility of contagion. This is dependent on the dynamic variation of the CT value because in the infection’s initial phase, the CT value equal to or higher than 35 is contagious, and subsequently, this CT value tends to decrease to lower than 35; during the period of recovery from infection, the CT value will increase again to equal to or higher than 35, and from that moment on, there is usually no risk of contagion”.
