The Macau government announced last night that the Guangdong government has decided to continue the 14-day mandatory quarantine for those arriving in Zhuhai from Macau, which was initially slated to have ended at 11:59 p.m. yesterday.

The Zhuhai health authorities imposed the mandatory quarantine rule for arrivals from Macau on Sunday following Macau’s latest wave of the COVID-19 epidemic which started the day before with a quarantine hotel security staff Delta variant cluster.

As of yesterday, the security staff cluster comprised six novel coronavirus patients. 

According to a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) last night, the Guangdong government’s decision did not mention for how long the mandatory quarantine will continue.

The first two Nepali security guards working at the Golden Crown China Hotel were confirmed as COVID-19 patients on Saturday last week, while the other four were diagnosed with the novel coronavirus disease on Tuesday – three other Nepali citizens working as security guards at the Golden Crown China Hotel and a mainlander working in the security control room of the adjacent Treasure Hotel. Both hotels are government-designated COVID-19 medical observation quarantine hotels. The two hotels in front of the local airport in Taipa are connected.

Those unable to travel to Zhuhai apparently due to the continuation of mandatory quarantine for those arriving in Zhuhai from Macau, which was announced last night, sleep or check their smartphones outside the Barrier Gate border checkpoint late last night. Photo: MPDG

The Health Bureau (SSM) has said that the first two Nepali patients posed a potential COVID-19 community transmission risk as they had returned to their respective homes on the peninsula before they were diagnosed with COVID-19 on Saturday last week, while the other four patients posed a lower COVID-19 risk to the community as they had already been taken into quarantine before they tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Tuesday. All the six COVID-19 cases have been classified as “connected to an imported case” – a local resident from Turkey who was diagnosed with the disease on Friday last week. All of them have been infected with the Delta variant.

Normally – i.e., before Macau’s current COVID-19 wave, the negative COVID-19 nucleic acid test (NAT) result for those travelling between Macau and Zhuhai without having to undergo quarantine was valid for seven days.

In the wake of Macau’s confirmation of the first two Nepali patients in the early hours of Saturday last week, the Zhuhai health authorities tightened border measures for arrivals from Macau. Between 6 a.m. on Saturday last week and 5:59 a.m. on Sunday, the validity of the negative NAT result for all those arriving in Zhuhai from Macau was tightened to just 24 hours. Since 6 a.m. on Sunday, people entering Zhuhai from Macau must undergo 14 days of mandatory quarantine, except certain groups of people such as cross-border lorry drivers. The mandatory quarantine rule for arrivals from Macau, which was originally slated to have ended at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, had been extended for another 48 hours to 11:59 p.m. yesterday. On Wednesday afternoon, Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng told reporters on Wednesday that he expected the Zhuhai authorities to lift its 14-day quarantine requirement for arrivals from Macau today – National Day. Yesterday’s decision by the Guangdong government, which was announced in last night’s GCS statement, means that Ho’s expectation made on Wednesday did not come to fruition.

3-sided video conference b/w Guangdong, Zhuhai, Macau

Last night’s GCS statement said that the Macau government held a video conference yesterday evening with the Guangdong and Zhuhai governments about the possible partial or full lifting of the tightened border measures for those arriving in Zhuhai from Macau. After a “long” discussion, the statement said, the Guangdong government decided to continue the current tightened COVID-19 border measures for those arriving in Zhuhai from Macau, according to which, the GCS statement noted, people entering Zhuhai from Macau must undergo 14 days of mandatory quarantine, except three groups of people, namely cross-border lorry drivers, hearse drivers, and critical-care nurses, who are required to present an NAT certificate confirming a negative COVID-19 result valid for 24 hours.

Macau is using a crematorium in Zhuhai as it still hasn’t one of its own. 

Last night’s GCS statement said that the Guangdong government had made the decision “after taking into account Macau’s COVID-19 prevention and control”.

Emotions running high

Public broadcaster TDM reported last night that some of the travellers who were gathering outside the Barrier Gate border checkpoint last night got emotional after the announcement of the Guangdong government’s decision. According to the TDM report, some of them quarrelled with Public Security Police (PSP) officers.

Tens of thousands of local residents and non-resident workers live in Zhuhai so prior to Sunday’s mandatory quarantine rule they regularly commuted between the two cities.

Due to the 14-day quarantine requirement, many of the commuters are staying at local hotels, inns and a government-provided shelter.