An online petition calling on the government to withdraw the blanket ban on non-resident workers (TNR) from overseas countries entering the Macau SAR was launched yesterday.
The ban started yesterday at 12 a.m. and prohibits entry for all TNR, except those from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The organizer of the petition, Hélder Beja, who is also the former program director of the Macau Literary Festival, believes that the measure deprives TNRs of fundamental rights.
“The absolute need of containing this epidemic and subjecting any new arrivals to a strict control (including compulsory quarantine and isolation) is understandable, but cannot lead to the denial of fundamental rights to human beings who have been working in Macau for years,” he stated in the petition.
Executive Order No. 73/2020, which was published Wednesday night, aims to deter the spread of the novel coronavirus after the city recorded new cases in two non-resident workers.
“We hereby request for this decision to be withdrawn with immediate effect. We’re all humans and we’re all somehow bond[ed] to this city of Macau. We can’t see this happening and do nothing,” Beja said.
Those that are currently in their hometowns on forced leave, annual leave or unpaid leave due to the virus have been affected by this measure.
As of yesterday, some 300 individuals had already signed the petition, with many of them commenting that they do not want to lose their jobs. LV
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