Macau students who study in Zhuhai may be exempted from quarantine

Macau residents who receive foundational education in neighboring Zhuhai may be exempted from the mainland city’s quarantine policy if they can show a negative Covid-19 test result from within the previous seven days, authorities in both cities have recently confirmed.
This exemption, however, only concerns those students who reside in Macau or are currently in Macau. Those residing in Zhuhai will not be required to take the test unless they have left the city in the past 14 days.
Foundational education in the neighboring city will resume in phases starting next Monday, April 27. The Macau education authority has announced that senior secondary education will resume May 4.
The Zhuhai authority disclosed that there are currently 1,061 teachers and students who are Macau residents and work at or are enrolled in foundational education institutions in Zhuhai. Among them, just 83 are still in Macau.
Should they wish to be exempted from Zhuhai’s quarantine measure when they attempt to return to work or study, they will be required to provide a certified negative Covid-19 test result taken within the previous seven days.
They should then submit the result to their respective schools in Zhuhai, which will handle the rest of the procedure for them. In some circumstances, they will be certified as “designated people” and be exempted from the 14-day quarantine.
Otherwise, these teachers and students will be required to follow the measures in effect in Zhuhai, which include a 14-day quarantine and a Covid-19 test.
The neighboring city’s authorities stated that they have already notified teachers and students about the resumption, while reminding them to return to Zhuhai as soon as possible in order to comply with the measures.
At the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center’s daily press conference, journalists questioned whether the Health Bureau would make arrangements for these teachers and students.
The question was raised because the bureau has stated several times that it would not approve requests for Covid-19 testing unless the person making the request has a high risk of contraction or close contact with a confirmed case.
Officials from the bureau and the Public Security Police Force confirmed that an existing mechanism would be able to solve the problem.
The mechanism, enacted by both Zhuhai and Macau, provides convenience for these people by facilitating Covid-19 testing at the border connecting Macau and Zhuhai. Once these residents enter the neighboring city, they will be required to take the test at the border checkpoint.
However, they will still be required to undergo 14 days of home quarantine before resuming life in Zhuhai.