CHINA. Cross-border transport companies are resuming service between the two Special Administrative Regions of Macau and Hong Kong after the Macau government relaxed its COVID-related entry restrictions from Friday 23 December.
The move came despite a surge in COVID-19 cases in Macau, linked to the lifting of previously stringent measures across Mainland China. In a surprise move, the Mainland authorities relaxed their previously rigid COVID-19 rules a fortnight ago with Macau subsequently following suit.
Travel retailers, restaurateurs and hoteliers have reported heavy infection rates among their staff. “75% of our staff are down,” one prominent Macau travel retailer told The Moodie Davitt Report today.
The Hong Kong-Macau Express bus service resumed on 24 December, connecting Hong Kong’s Prince Edward district to Grand Lisboa and MGM Cotai in Macau.
TurboJET ferry services between Macau’s Taipa Ferry Terminal and Hong Kong International Airport’s Skypier will resume on 30 December. The high-speed ferry service between downtown Hong Kong and Macau is also poised for a return. Ferry services between the two SARs, including the airport route, were suspended in February 2020 due to the pandemic.
Bus service frequency on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge has also been increased.
The Macao News reported on Friday that some 115,000 people in the SAR had tested positive for the virus over the previous few days but experts in Macau believe the surge will peak during the next week.
In a report today, Macau Daily Times quoted Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng saying there would be no backtracking on the decision to relax restrictions. The move was aimed at “opening up, so everyone could soon resume their normal life”, he told a media conference held at Macau International Airport on 24 December.
Travellers arriving from Hong Kong, Taiwan or foreign countries will no longer be tested upon arrival nor given a red health code. They will still need to have had a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test within three days of entry, however.
After arrival, their health codes will turn yellow. Arriving visitors must still conduct rapid antigen tests (RAT) for five days after entry, after which their health code will turn green. Entry from Macau to Mainland China is not permitted until after midnight, nine days after arrival.
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