Authorities negotiating quarantine for Hong Kong students, no number yet

Local authorities are still in negotiations with their counterparts in the neighboring region of Hong Kong about the possibility of Macau accepting quarantine applications from students from Hong Kong, the coordinator at the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Leong Iek Hou, said yesterday in response to media inquiries.

According to Leong, the matter is in the hands of the Education and Youth Development Bureau and local authorities do not yet have a clear idea of the number of people it might involve.

Nonetheless, Leong explained that there will not be any type of preferential treatment or conditions applied to their students, noting that all people arriving in Macau from medium and high-risk areas need to adhere to the 7+3 quarantine rule in force in Macau.

The same official also explained, regarding the reduction of quarantine period, that a reduction from the current seven days to five days would represent an increase in the risk of a potential outbreak in the community by about 20%.

In response to the question of whether there are enough rooms available in the quarantine hotels to accept the students, the representative of the Macao Government Tourism Office, Lau Fong Chi, said that the MGTO will only know once they learn how many students might be interested in coming to Macau.