Macau Orders Medical Checks On HK Visitors

Macau authorities have announced a ban on any Hong Kong, Taiwan or mainland people who have recently been overseas, due to a surge in cases in the former Portuguese enclave, while those visitors who are allowed in will be put under medical surveillance.

The ban, which doesn't apply to anyone who is a resident of Macau, will come into force on Wednesday.

People from the three places who haven't been abroad in the past 14 days will still be allowed to enter Macau, but will be subject to 14 days of medical surveillance.

Macau had already banned foreign non-residents last week, with Hong Kong to follow suit from Wednesday.

Like Hong Kong, Macau is also now banning transit passengers at its airport.

Macau's Chief Executive, Ho Iat-seng, said the people of his city have contributed a lot to the fight against the pandemic, but they now face greater pressure after the jump in the number of virus patients.

He said the government is thankful to the more than a thousand students who have returned from overseas for being cooperative and staying in the hotels designated for them.

Ho said officials estimate that up to three percent of these students could be infected and that it is why they need to be separated from the rest of the community.

Macau has recorded 25 coronavirus cases so far, 15 of them in the past 10 days. The territory had gone 40 days without a single new case, and the latest infections have all been linked to travel abroad.

Hong Kong has seen 356 cases to date, and Taiwan 195.