Medical observation for arrivals from outside China to be shortened to 14 days, effective from 00:00 on 28 March | Immigration restrictions for non-Macao residents remain unchanged

Announcement 145/A/SS/2022

The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre (hereinafter referred to as the “Centre”) announces that in response to the changes of the epidemic situation, Announcement no. 145/A/SS/2022 has been made by the Health Bureau under the stipulations of articles 10 and 14 of Law no. 2/2004 – “Law on the Prevention, Control and Treatment of Infectious Diseases”. With effect from 00:00 on 28 March 2022:

1. All arrivals travelling from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the region of Taiwan and areas outside Mainland China must undergo centralized medical observation until 14 days after their entry into the Macao Special Administrative Region, and then exercise rigorous self-health management for 7 days upon completion of the centralized medical observation. This measure shall also apply to individuals who have entered the Macao Special Administrative Region from the abovementioned areas, and are currently under medical observation.
2. Individuals from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the region of Taiwan and areas outside Mainland China who have completed medical observation in isolation in Mainland China less than 7 days ago may only enter the Macao Special Administrative Region through the land border checkpoints, and they must be submitted to centralized medical observation for another 7 days.
3. During the period of rigorous self-health management, their health code will turn yellow and they are not allowed to travel to Mainland China via the Macao Special Administrative Region; meanwhile, they must be subject to COVID-19 nucleic acid tests on Days 1, 2, 4 and 7 upon commencement of self-health management, and observe other anti-epidemic measures. For those who fail to get tested on the specified dates, their health code will be locked in red until a negative nucleic acid test result is yielded.

The Centre emphasizes that the new regulations do not change the current nucleic acid test requirements for boarding a flight, nor change the immigration restrictions for non-Macao residents.

According to the current regulations, for non-residents of Macao travelling directly from a foreign country, or non-residents of Macao who do not have a resident status in the Mainland China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the region of Taiwan, entry authorization will only be granted if they meet the public interests.

Non-Macao residents without a resident status in the Mainland China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the region of Taiwan may enter into Macao via the Mainland China or Hong Kong SAR provided that they comply with the required conditions and are authorized by the health authorities in advance. For details, please visit the Special Webpage against Epidemics: “Application Procedures for Foreign Nationals Seeking Exemption from Immigration Restrictions (Access from Mainland China)”, “Application Procedures for Foreign Nationals Seeking Exemption from Immigration Restrictions (Access from Hong Kong)”, and “Frequently Asked Questions about Application Procedures for Foreign Nationals in Hong Kong Seeking Exemption from Immigration Restrictions”. Points to note:

1. The day to start exercising rigorous self-health management (i.e. the day on which the centralized medical observation is completed) is the first day to undergo COVID-19 nucleic acid tests. For example: If the centralized medical observation is completed on 1^st April, then nucleic acid tests should be taken on 1^st, 2^nd, 4^th and 7^th of April.

2. The concerned individuals may schedule for nucleic acid tests via the following links:

1. Routine NAT stations (https://eservice.ssm.gov.mo/rnatestbook), OR
2. Schedule NAT via free nucleic acid test link (https://app.ssm.gov.mo/mandatoryrnatestbook): Result will not be uploaded to the “Macao Health Code”.

3. The health code of people who fail to get tested on the specified dates will be locked in red. Should this happen, they may only undergo nucleic acid test at the NAT sampling station of the Conde deSão Januário General Hospital and are required to arrange their own transport.

4. The “Precautions for Self-Health Management” can be downloaded via the link the link below or from the Special Webpage against Epidemics:

https://www.ssm.gov.mo/docs/17517/17517_5fb24794f32247cdb664ed5c2a798453_000.pdf