The city’s immigration authority has not noticed any change in the number of border crossings since the resumption of tourist visa issuance in the neighboring city of Zhuhai.
Based on information provided to Macau Daily Times last week, the new visas will take approximately seven days to process. The resumption began last Wednesday, August 12, and visa appointments on the first two days were reportedly fully booked.
During Friday’s press conference of the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center, Ma Chio Hong, head of the Operations and Communication Division of the Public Security Police Force (PSP), revealed the border traffic information.
When asked whether the immigration authority was prepared for last weekend, the first weekend since the mainland had resumed issuing tourist visas, Ma said he expected no significant changes at the borders.
According to Ma, the PSP has been monitoring the number of crossings since August 12.
However, “there is not an obvious increase in the number of border crossings since August 12,” Ma said, adding that the number of entries and departures has remained similar to previous days.
Over the weekend, the immigration authority anticipated there would be little pressure at the borders. However, Ma expects that the number of arrivals will have an upward trend in the coming weeks.
The police authority has already begun implementing a plan for a possible surge in traffic.
On August 12 and August 13, Macau received 6,800 and 6,200 visitors, representing increases of 14.5% and 15.8% respectively compared to the previous day. These visitors are understood to be traveling on travel endorsements approved prior to Covid-19, but which are still valid.
The Macau government has been increasing the frequency of testing frontline casino workers for Covid-19. The government expects to test all concerned casino employees within the next seven days.
Last week, the government also informed the public that EVA Air and Air Macau would operate flights between Macau and Europe. As of Friday, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) had not received any inquiries or requests for assistance regarding these flights.
Meanwhile, in regards to quarantine and the inspection of imported frozen meat, Leong Iek Hou, coordinator of the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center, said that Macau is currently remaining cautious about imported frozen food inspections. According to Leong, it may be possible for people to be infected if the food contains the virus.
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