Macau banned all inbound passenger flights from outside China for two weeks to stem a recent increase in Covid-19 cases.
In an action impacting business, Macau’s ‘Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center’ banned the entry of flights from abroad between 9 and 23 January.
The city’s Health Department said it would ban “civil aircraft from transporting passengers from outside China to Macau”.
Like Hong Kong and neighboring mainland China, Macau has maintained tight travel restrictions. Non-resident visitors cannot enter the city, while all residents arriving from abroad are subject to mandatory quarantine, regardless of whether or not they test positive for Covid-19.
With the exception of mainland China and Hong Kong, this can vary from 21 to 35 days depending on the country the visitor is arriving from.
Hong Kong announced similar measures on January 5th. A two-week ban on inbound flights from Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, Philippines, UK and USA has been introduced. This will take effect from January 8th and will run until January 21st.
Macau has so far avoided any deaths and has detected only 79 cases in total, although it records asymptomatic cases. On December 26, the city detected its first case of the Omicron variant, which was soon followed by a second, on December 29.
The former Portuguese colony is home to more than 650,000 people, who inhabit an approximate land area of just over 30 km2, making Macau one of the most densely populated regions on the planet.
Despite the necessary measures, Macau is experiencing a good moment.
Even though it is going through a delicate moment and taking necessary measures to contain Covid-19, the Macau government recently reported in an official statement that the Asian gaming center’s economy has expanded for the second consecutive quarter after improvements in gaming and services. tourism; the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased 32.9% compared to 2020.
Data from the Statistical and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that exports of services increased 181% year-on-year in the third quarter, driven by a recovery in visitor numbers, exports of gambling/casino services and other tourism services increased 302.6% and 303.3%, respectively.
