The medical observation quarantine period for the riders coming from Europe to participate in the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix next month might be reduced from the current seven days to “four or five” the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Elsie Ao Ieong, said yesterday on the sidelines of the opening of the Judiciary year.
Questioned by the media on the possibility of reducing the quarantine time especially for those riders, Ao Ieong said that the government and the health authorities are considering the possibility of a special plan that would include four to five days in isolation and additional daily nucleic acid testing (NAT) on the following days.
The Times also learned from people close to the organization of the event, who wish to remain anonymous, that during the invitation and negotiation period with the racers, one of the attraction points used by the Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee (MGPOC) to attract the foreign riders to return to Macau, was an “unwritten” promise that “by the time of their arrival to Macau they would benefit from a reduced quarantine [from the current 7+3 rule].”
More than one person has mentioned to the Times the number of “three days” or “3+4,” but remarked that this was only hinted at in the context of negotiation as a possibility and was never officially granted.
According to the president of the Sports Bureau and Coordinator of the MGPOC, the event will include the presence of 10 riders coming from the UK, Portugal, Germany, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Finland, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands.
The Grand Prix event goes on track on November 17 with the arrival of the riders to Macau being expected between the last few days of October and the first days of November.
