Home quarantine for returnees not an option

Health authorities refuse to consider permitting residents returning to Macau to undergo medical observation quarantine in their homes, the coordinator at the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Leong Iek Hou, said yesterday in response to a media inquiry on the topic.

Leong explained that such a method of quarantine “has proven to be unsatisfactory and unsuitable to Macau,” explaining that due to the high population density of the region, home quarantine could pose a risk to other inhabitants in the building or area.

She also added that adopting such a method would “cause concern to neighbors.”

Questioned about whether authorities are considering reducing the number of days of quarantine on arrival for those returning from medium and high risk areas, Leong said that health authorities are collecting data on the matter, expressing hope that the period “can be adjusted in the future.”

Leong did not clarify when this adjustment may occur or if the adjustment will or will not match the current standard from the mainland that requires seven days’ quarantine in a hotel and an extra three days of health self-management at home for those arriving from such areas.

Leong noted that the current rule for Macau continues to be a 10 day quarantine in a designated hotel facility, plus another seven days of health self-management, noting that the health codes of the people undergoing observation are already green during these seven days, which allows them a “normal life.”

Also under consideration is the measure that forces families to undergo a 14 day quarantine (instead of 10) if they are traveling to Macau with young and unvaccinated children. Similarly, no timeline was given for the authorities’ changed approach to these measures.