A total of 95 tourists holding foreign passports have entered Macau over the past week, health authorities said in a reply to a Times inquiry during yesterday’s press briefing from the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center.
According to the officials, these 95 foreign visitors include holders of Portuguese passports. It is unclear how many of these tourists benefited from the measure launched by the government on September 1 allowing the entry of visitors holding passports from 41 different countries.
“Last week a total of 1,204 people entered Macau coming from areas of medium and high risk. Of those [people], 646 were residents of Macau, the others were non-residents and tourists. As for tourists, we have recorded a total of 95 that are not holders of mainland China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan travel documents. These include […] holders of Portuguese and other passports,” the coordinator at the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Leong Iek Hou, said yesterday in response to a question from the Times.
Leong also added that, as of September 1, these visitors do not need to request special authorization to enter Macau. Authorities are not aware how many have entered due to the easing of the entry restrictions or had already previously requested special authorization to enter.
To another inquiry from the Times about the quarantine hotel facility to be used for the medical observation of those foreign visitors, the representative of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Liz Lam, clarified that the visitors will be lodged in the Regency Art Hotel in Taipa.
This hotel unit also serves as an optional medical observation venue available for those residents arriving from foreign countries or the Taiwan region who are bearing the costs of the quarantine. Those exempted from paying for the lodging (that is, those undergoing quarantine for the first time) are required to stay at the Treasure Hotel, located also in Taipa but next to the Macau International Airport.
At the same press briefing, the representative from the Public Security Police Force, Ma Chio Hong, gave an update on the weekly figures of border crossings. These showed a general increase in all border crossings by 10.2% and an increase in visitors by 10.1%.
The peak of the border-crossing figures last week was reached on September 5 (Monday), when 34,100 visitors crossed the border.
Health authorities call for ‘extra caution’ over the moon-festival holiday
Health authorities are calling for residents to exercise extra caution over the moon-festival holidays this weekend.
At yesterday’s press briefing, Leong noted that the Covid situation in the neighboring areas, including the city of Zhuhai, is “not very stable” and advised the residents to reconsider traveling to high-risk areas.
“I appeal for people to be extremely careful, especially those who are traveling over these days, and to consider the risks involved,” she said, noting that those who are not traveling should still pay special attention to crowd-gathering situations and wear a mask at all times.
