Gov’t says returnee student requests to be considered case-by-case

Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Elsie Ao Ieong, has closed the door to further transportation of returnee students in batches yesterday, saying that requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

On the sidelines of a university event, she recapped that in February and March, the government opened applications for two cohorts of returnee students. “Recently, there have not been many registrations,” she said.

She said that her teams are currently determining how much hotels must do to be converted into quarantine hotels. This is done in order to identify venues with better hygiene standards that can be used to handle entrants from higher-risk places.

The official also remarked that, for the first time, the government will consider making vaccination mandatory for student and open sporting competitions. When this comes into effect, all athletes participating in such competitions must be fully vaccinated and take regular SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid tests (NATs) throughout the event.

In fact, the Sports Bureau has made full vaccination mandatory for at least three events, including the Macao International Marathon, the Macao 10K Run and the upcoming Macao International Dragon Boat Races.

Another plan concerning students has seen the government order BioNTech mRNA vaccines for children. The official said the reason for the purchase of the children’s mRNA vaccine is to offer choice to the younger population, despite the fact that half of the city’s school children have received at least one vaccine dose, according to a government disclosure.

The official was also asked about whether the validity period for NAT results would be extended for those seeking to travel from Zhuhai to Macau. 

She said it had been agreed between Macau and Zhuhai that negotiations concerning the validity period could commence once Zhuhai had had no new cases for seven days.

The last new recorded case in Zhuhai was March 25.

Regarding the government’s preparations against possible outbreaks, Ao Ieong said contingencies had been outlined and were constantly being refined.

Drugs have also been ordered in preparation for potential outbreaks. One drug has already arrived in Macau, with three others (two to be delivered via injection and the third in pill form) still to come. 

First-response resources for an outbreak have already been delivered, the official said, adding that asymptomatic patients normally do not receive medications.