Quarantine cut to seven days from Aug. 6, foreign tourists still banned
Macau quarantine periods will change from the current 10 days in a designated quarantine hotel and an additional seven-day period of self-health management (10+7) to seven days in a hotel and three extra days of health management, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center said yesterday.
The measure, to be enforced from Saturday (August 6), applies to all people arriving in Macau from countries or areas considered to be at medium or high risk of infection from Covid-19.
According to the center, the reduced number of days of medical observation is a result of amendments to the “Protocol for Prevention and Control of COVID-19 (Ninth Edition)” published by the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council.
The mainland has had a reduced quarantine period for some time due to the changes in the behavior of the new strains of Covid-19, namely the Omicron variant, which has a much shorter incubation period than previous variants.
The center also noted that, currently, people released from the 10-day quarantine have a green code. However, from August 6 under the new rules, the health code will be yellow during the 3-day self-
health management period and those affected will be prevented from entering public venues or using public transportation.
Besides the normal nucleic acid tests (NAT) conducted during quarantine, those released from medical observation will have to conduct an additional NAT daily during the three days of self-management.
No changes to ban on foreign tourists
During yesterday’s press briefing from the center, the local coordinator of the center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Leong Iek Hou, also confirmed that such measures would not affect the ban that is still in force and that disallows visitors from foreign countries from entering Macau.
Responding to questions, Leong said that changes to the ban would depend essentially on two major factors: the evaluation of risk in particular countries or areas; and the capacity of the quarantine hotels to take these visitors in without compromising the return of local residents and non-resident workers, as well as visitors from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
