The Macau government will relax its post-quarantine measures for those who have completed their 14-day hotel quarantine after arriving in Macau from Hong Kong, according to which from Monday they will no longer be subject to a seven-day post-quarantine period of having a yellow Macau Health Code.

Under the new measure, which will take effect at 00:00 on Monday, those who have completed their 14-day hotel quarantine after arriving from Hong Kong will have to practise seven days of “self-health monitoring”, during which they will have a green Macau Health Code, but will be barred from entering the mainland from Macau.

Leong Iek Hou, who heads the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Division of the Health Bureau (SSM), announced the new measure during yesterday’s regular press conference by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre.

Currently, i.e., before the new measure takes effect on Monday, those arriving in Macau from Hong Kong, Taiwan or foreign countries must undergo 14 days of hotel quarantine, after which they are required to practise seven days of “self-health management”, during which their Macau Health Code colour indicates yellow. Their health code colour will only return to green after completing the seven-day “self-health management”.

Currently, those practising their seven-day “self-health management” must undergo four COVID-19 tests, on the first, second, fourth and last day of the period. Those failing to undergo each of the four required tests before the required schedule will have their Macau Health Code colour even turn red from yellow. Those whose health code colour has become red due to this reason will only have it return to yellow after undergoing the required test and provided that it comes up with a negative result.

Only those with a green Macau Health Code are allowed to enter public premises and take public transport.

Those with a yellow Macau Health Code are barred from entering certain premises and facilities, using public transport, and entering the mainland from Macau.

Those with a red Macau Health Code are subject to even stricter measures compared to those with a yellow health code. Those with a red health code may be transferred to a quarantine facility depending on case-by-case assessments by health officials.

During yesterday’s press conference, Leong said that the Macau government has decided to relax its post-quarantine measures for those arriving from Hong Kong after considering that Hong Kong’s COVID-19 epidemic situation has been easing.

Leong announced that from Monday, those who have completed their 14-day hotel quarantine after arriving in Macau from Hong Kong will have to practise seven days of “self-health monitoring”, a relaxation from the current seven days of “self-health management”.

Leong said that the new measure will also be applicable to those who have stayed in Hong Kong for at least seven days after arriving there from Taiwan or foreign countries.

Currently, those arriving in Hong Kong from Taiwan or foreign countries are only required to undergo seven days of hotel quarantine.

Under the new measure which will take effect on Monday, Leong said, those practising their seven-day post-quarantine “self-health monitoring” will have a green Macau Health Code – a change from the current seven-day “self-health management” carrying a yellow Macau Health Code.

However, Leong said, those practising their seven-day “self-health monitoring” will also be barred from entering the mainland from Macau, despite the fact that they are holding a green Macau Health Code during the seven-day period.

Those practising their seven-day “self-health monitoring” must undergo three COVID-19 nucleic acid tests (NATs), on the second, fourth and sixth day of the period, Leong said.

According to Leong, those failing to undergo each of the three required tests before the required schedule will have their Macau Health Code colour turn yellow from green. Those whose health code colour has become yellow due to this reason will only have it return to green after undergoing the required test and provided that it comes up with a negative result, Leong said.

Macau’s post-quarantine measures for those arriving from Taiwan or foreign countries will remain unchanged from Monday, meaning that those who have completed their 14-day hotel quarantine after arriving from Taiwan or foreign countries will continue to be subject to the current seven-day “self-health management”.

Differences b/w self-health management & monitoring

Leong noted that the most obvious difference between the current and new measures will be that those practising “self-health monitoring” will have a green Macau Health Code, meaning that they can go to school or work as normal during the seven-day period, i.e., they can commence their normal daily lives after completing their 14-day hotel quarantine. In addition, Leong said, they can also participate in activities and events involving crowd gatherings as long as they always wear a facemask throughout the activities and events.

Leong pointed out that those practising “self-health management” face certain restrictions on their daily lives in the community during the seven-day period as they are barred from going to school, working on the frontline, and participating in activities involving crowd gatherings.

Nevertheless, Leong noted, compared to residents in general, those practising “self-health monitoring” will have a major restriction, namely being barred from entering the mainland during the seven-day period.

No need for travellers from mainland to book quarantine guestroom in advance

Meanwhile, during yesterday’s press conference Leong also noted that different to those arriving from Hong Kong, Taiwan or foreign countries, those who are required to undergo hotel quarantine after arriving in Macau from areas affected by COVID-19 in the mainland are not required to make a prior booking for a guestroom before travelling to Macau.

Leong pointed out that the Macau government has been constantly changing its hotel quarantine list of COVID-19-affected areas in the mainland in line with the “frequent” changes in the mainland’s COVID-19 situation. Consequently, Leong said, the Macau government has not been requiring those arriving from COVID-19-affected areas in the mainland to book a quarantine hotel guestroom before travelling to Macau.

Instead, Leong said that Health Bureau officials at the city’s border checkpoints will assess travellers from the mainland case by case whether they are required to undergo hotel quarantine based on their travel history in the mainland. Health Bureau officials will then ask the Macau Government Tourism Office to arrange a quarantine hotel guestroom for those arriving from the mainland who have been assessed as being required to undergo hotel quarantine.

Currently, those arriving from areas affected by COVID-19 in the mainland are required to undergo hotel quarantine for a period of between 7 and 14 days. 

Leong Iek Hou, who heads the Health Bureau’s (SSM) Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Division, addresses yesterday’s press conference about the city’s COVID-19 situation. Photo: Tony Wong