The Macau SAR and Zhuhai governments have agreed to increase the daily exemption quota for Macau residents entering Zhuhai, with officials insisting the latest confirmed case of COVID-19 in the SAR – Macau’s first in over two months – will not disrupt ongoing negotiations over the reopening of borders with Hong Kong and Guangdong Province.
As of 27 June, the Zhuhai government has increased the quota for Macau residents allowed to cross the border without undergoing mandatory 14-day quarantine from 1,000 to 3,000.
Health officials added that Macau’s current COVID-19 testing capacity is 16,000 samples every day, enough to cope with the needs of residents.
Macau recorded a new imported case of COVID-19 last Friday (26 June), a Macau resident returning from the Philippines. The patient returned via the Hong Kong International Airport and arrived in Macau using the chartered ferry service last Thursday. He tested positive shortly after entering quarantine at the Grand Sheraton Macao.
The health authority emphasized that the patient had not entered into the Macau community and there was therefore no risk of community transmission. As a result, it said, current discussions on the easing of border restrictions would not be affected by this case.
The man is the 46th confirmed case of COVID-19 in Macau but the first in 78 days, and represents the only known active case in Macau.
The SAR government is currently requiring residents returning from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Indonesia and Brazil to submit a negative virus test result before being allowed access to its chartered ferry services, which will run until 16 July.
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