A growing list of
countries have imposed entry restrictions on travellers from Macau amid surges
of infections across the country, requiring them to present a pre-departure
covid-19 test upon arrival.
The Australian government announced yesterday (Sunday) that starting from 5 January, all arrivals from Macau, mainland China, and Hong Kong will have to provide a negative covid testing certificate issued within 48 hours before boarding.
Australian health authorities said that they would decide in the next few days whether it would be a nucleic acid test or a rapid antigen test. However, in spite of the fresh requirement, Australian Health Minister Mark Butler stressed that the country still welcomed Chinese tourists.
Meanwhile, Canada and the United States also introduced similar entry restrictions.
According to a statement published by the Public Health Agency of Canada on Saturday, starting from 5 January, all air travellers who are two years of age or older, arriving on flights originating from Macau, mainland China, or Hong Kong, will need to provide evidence of a negative Covid-19 test result, issued no more than two days prior to their departure.
The temporary health measure, which will apply to all air travellers, regardless of nationality and vaccination status, stands for 30 days.
The test could be
either a negative molecular (such as a PCR test) or a negative antigen test
from an accredited testing provider.
US health authorities
also announced on December 28 last year that they will enforce a requirement
for air passengers from Macau, Hong Kong and mainland China to produce a
negative Covid-19 test or proof of recovery on 5 January.
The step was taken to
“slow the spread of Covid-19 in the United States” as Covid-19 cases
surge across China “given the lack of adequate and transparent
epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data being reported from the
PRC”, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Many other countries
have also imposed pandemic prevention restrictions on travellers from China,
without specifying Macau SAR and Hong Kong SAR, with the growing list of
countries including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, India, Japan, and
South Korea.
China had adopted a
“zero-covid” policy in the previous three years, with stringent steps
taken to control the spread of the virus. However, and the country lifted most
of the restrictions in December 2022, resulting in a surge in covid infections nationwide.
Starting from 8
January, individuals traveling to China will no longer be sent to quarantine
upon arrival, indicating a re-opening of borders to foreign countries.
