Macau’s quarantine-free travel moves ‘goal-post’

A government adviser in Hong Kong said that the neighboring SAR might open to global travel in about six months, once officials have successfully navigated the introduction of quarantine-free borders with mainland China and boosted the local vaccination rate, as cited in a Bloomberg report.
“Hopefully by then, we have opened up the border with China and we might [be in a position] favorable to open up the border to other places,” said Lam Ching-choi, a member of Hong Kong’s Executive Council.
China, Hong Kong and Macau are pursuing a “Covid Zero” strategy which aims to eliminate the transmission of the virus through quarantine. In Macau, the quarantine period increases to 28 days for passengers arriving from high-risk countries such as the Philippines, Nepal, India and Brazil, among others.
Elsewhere, many other countries have opened their borders to fully-vaccinated travelers after year-long border closures.
Andy Wu, chairman of the Travel Industry Council of Macau, said that he did not understand the logic behind the claim. On the contrary, he said that recent the epidemiological situation in Hong Kong has been relatively stable.
News released has advised that Hong Kong and mainland China will head toward border normalization by the end of December.
“Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng has said that when the mainland and Hong Kong resume normal border crossings, Macau will follow suit,” Wu said, offering support for his confidence in the forthcoming Macau-Hong Kong border normalization.
He also told the Times that based on 2020 figures when the number of visitor arrivals from mainland China dropped drastically, once Macau-Hong Kong border normalization is achieved, there should be at least 10,000 extra visitor arrivals to Macau each day.
“After all, Hong Kong tourists account for 20% of the city’s tourist arrivals,” Wu said.
Meanwhile, on the opening up of Macau to quarantine-free travel, Leonardo Dioko, director of the IFTM Tourism Research Centre, believes that the question is “a constantly moving goal-post.”
Next to Guangdong Province and connected to Hong-Kong by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, Macau must align its policies with those of its neighbors.
“The pressure for Hong Kong and Macau to open up, however, will probably build as more countries allow greater air travel, given that Macau and Hong Kong have many international links and Macau is often a gateway to the mainland,” the tourism scholar explained.
Vaccines continue to play a major role the easing of border restrictions.
Recent data shows that over 465,000, people in Macau have been vaccinated with at least a dose of either Sinopharm or BioNTech vaccines.
For Dioko, there are key determining factors remaining, such as the anti-body or immunity levels of Macau’s population; the vulnerability of younger and older people; and hospital capacity. On these scores, Macau remains vulnerable compared to its immediate neighbors.
“It is interesting that last year, many experts touted a return to normalcy once the vaccines were rolled out,” said the professor.
“We are now almost a year from the time the first vaccines were administered but the vulnerability of Macau and many destinations remain,” he added.
Meanwhile, the recent anti-viral treatments announced by the U.K. and the U.S. are a new factor, which change the game in returning to quarantine-free travel.
Last week, Pfizer Inc. said that its experimental antiviral pill for Covid-19 has cut rates of hospitalization and death by nearly 90% in high-risk adults, as the drug manufacturer joins the race for an easy-to-use medication to treat the coronavirus.
Pfizer said it will ask the FDA and international regulators to authorize the pill as soon as possible, after independent experts recommended halting the company’s study based on the success of its results. Once Pfizer applies, the FDA could make a decision within weeks or months.

*Additional reporting from Anthony Lam